Published: January 10, 2009 12:05 am      

No. 1 Mountain State set to battle No. 10 Lee today

Mountain State has proved it can win big games.

The Cougars have beaten No. 21 Lindsey Wilson and No. 2 Cumberlands over the last week.

It has proved it can score points in bunches, leading the nation in scoring at 99.9 points per game.

Now all that’s left is to prove it can beat a ranked opponent on the road.

The Cougars — its one loss at Cumberlands on Nov. 20 — will get a chance to do that tonight when they visit No. 10 Lee University in Cleveland, Tenn. Tip-off is 8 p.m. and the game will be broadcast live on WTNJ-FM 105.9.

“Any time you’re playing a Top 10 team on the road, you know how well you have to play,” MSU coach Bob Bolen said. “I know we are capable of playing that well. But going out and doing it in a hostile environment is going to be a learning experience for this team.”

“We have taken steps toward doing that. But this is a big step.”

Lee, coached by former Bluefield College coach Tommy Brown, is 11-3 and has won all seven of its home games. And the Flames are also the last team to defeat MSU at the Beckley-Raleigh County Convention Center, knocking off the Cougars by one last season.

Lee returns three starters from that team, including Harold Griffin, whose brother Damien is a former Cougars’ standout.

Griffin, a 6-foot-7 senior, averages 10.6 points and 6.8 rebounds per game for the Flames.

Elmar Kuli-Zade, a 5-9 senior, and Paco Diaw, a 6-7 senior transfer from Georgia Tech, also return. Kuli-Zade averages a team-best 12.4 ppg and Diaw 10.0.

Two Division I transfers have helped Lee, including Nate Minnoy, who started at Purdue as a freshman, and Caleb Skogen, who played at Mercer and was a walk-on on the UT-Chattonooga football team last year. Minnoy averages 10.2 and 5.8 rebounds and Skogen 7.2 ppg.

“They are a legitimate Top 10 team,” Bolen said. “They remind me of last year’s Lee team, only this year I think they have a little bit more depth.”

For MSU, A.J. Pigram continues to lead the team in scoring at 16.8 ppg. But he has struggled on the Cougars’ recent homestand, scoring just 11 points in two games.

“He’s not scoring in bunches like he was, but he is still a factor on the court,” Bolen said. “The defense has to guard him so far out that it opens up driving lanes and our inside game. If teams are going to take him away, we’re not going to force him to take every shot. We have a lot of other weapons. He’s a shooter, a scorer, and they’ll start falling.”

Andrew Lee is next at 16.2, followed by Bo Harris (14.5), Tony Brown (11.7), Nick Aldridge (11.3) and Ermin Tarcin (11.0). Backup guard Marcus Hunter averages 9.8.

“They have a great fan base and we know there will be 3,000 fans in there,” Bolen said. “It’s going to be the most hostile environment we’ve played in this year, not counting the (West Virginia) exhibition game. But you have to play through that, and it should be exciting for our players.”

— E-mail:

demorrison@register-herald.com