by (Fort Smith) – The UAFS men’s basketball team will soon begin its sixth season of competition in the Heartland Conference, and in that short span, the Lions have made quite a name for themselves throughout the now 11-team league.
For the fourth-consecutive season, the Lions have been picked to win the conference by the league’s head coaches and sports information directors.
UAFS, which is the two-time defending regular-season champion, was a near-unanimous favorite, receiving 20 of the 22 first-place votes. St. Mary’s and Texas A&M International each received one first-place vote.
“It’s a great honor,” UAFS coach Josh Newman said. “Obviously, the target is on our backs once again, but that is okay. We’ve been here before.”
UAFS received 239 points in the overall voting, edging runner-up pick St. Mary’s by 28 points. Texas A&M International, which is the defending conference tournament champion, received 192 points and was picked third.
Seth Youngblood (Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma), last years Freshman of the Year, returns for his sophomore campaign has the teams leading scorer. Last season, Youngblood started all 28 of the games he played and led the team in scoring with 14.5 points per game. He also averaged 2.5 rebounds per game and was third on team with 55 total assists and 16 total steals. For his efforts he was selected as Second Team All-Conference and Heartland Conference Freshman of the Year.
The Lions will play two exhibition games prior to their season opener. UAFS will play at NCAA Division I Utah State at 6:05 p.m. (CST) on Nov. 7 at Logan, Utah. The Lions will then play at NCAA Division I Southern Utah at 6 p.m. (CST) on Nov. 8 at Cedar City, Utah.
UAFS will open the regular season at 4 p.m. (CST) on Nov. 14 against the University of Colorado-Colorado Springs in the opening game of the South Central Region Crossover in Denver, Colo. The Lions will then play at 6 p.m. (CST) on Nov. 15 against host Metro State in the crossover finale.
