Roaring Lions Look to Build on Last Season's Accomplishments

The 2014-15 season ended with the Roaring Lions setting a USCAA tournament record for most points scored, racking up 124 compared to Central Penn's 117.  The Lions lost key production when Matt Mckenna, Jacob Bronder, and Dierre Jenkins graduated.  Fayette's basketball family continues to grow, and they continue to take strides.  "Replacing last year's Seniors won't be easy, but the legacy each class leaves seems to grow stronger and stronger," said Mookie John Roaring Lion head coach.

CJ Gaddis, Luke Williams, and Brandon Cunningham all return as starters for the Roaring Lions, as they enter their Senior Season.  Gaddis averaged 10 assists per game as a Junior, led the USCAA and PSUAC in assists, assists per game, and assist to turnover ratio.  Gaddis was an All-PSUAC and Honorable Mention All-American performer.  "CJ's progression over the past four years is evident in his accolades. He is the prototypical point guard and a true floor general," boasted John.

Williams enters his Senior season as a third year Roaring Lion.  In Williams Sophomore season, he led the Roaring Lions to a first round playoff victory at Penn State Wilkes Barre with 28 first half points.  During his Junior campaign, Williams averaged 15.3 points per game and narrowly missed earning all-conference and all-american awards.  "Luke is our best defender, and on offense, he can light up the scoreboard," commented John.

Because of a transfer rule, Cunningham was forced to sit out last season, and he enters his Senior season with high expectations.  As a Freshman, Cunningham was named New Comer of the Year by the PSUAC.  In his Sophomore season, Cunningham was a starter on a Roaring Lion team that played for the USCAA national title, and was subsequently honored as a USCAA All-American.  "Brandon is one of the best all around basketball players we've had here at Fayette.  He can score, he can play very aggressive defense, and he rebounds the ball very well," remarked John.  "He was our first recruit, and we're proud to model our program after not only Brandon, but Luke and CJ as well," added John.

Junior forward Spencer Perieff and guards Dominick Jackson and Tony Bristol look to strengthen their roles on a Roaring Lion team that has its sights set on the school's first USCAA championship.  "Spencer brings a certain toughness to our paint presence that is a bit deceptive.  He's a guard by nature, but has stepped in to fill a void in our lineup," said Associate Head Coach Jajuan Davis.  Davis went on, "Dominck and Tony are two of the fasted guys in the league, and when they start to feed off of each other, they are an exciting pair to watch."

Sophomore Kody Thomas is expected to see significant minutes this year.  Thomas, a native of North Union Township shows "toughness unparalleled by any", according to John.  "He shoots the ball tremendously well, knows what we want to accomplish on both ends of the floor, and he comes from a tradition enriched program at Laurel Highlands," said John  "We've also been bitten by the injury bug.  Sean Smoggie, Demetrius Farmer, Mario Reeves, and Jeffrey Waters are all waiting to return, hopefully next semester," added Davis.

The Roaring Lions boast one of their best recruiting classes during the John/Davis era, bringing in more student-athletes from the greater Los Angeles area and the island of Maui.  London Hoxie and Marvin Sidon came to Fayette from the West Coast and beyond, while Attrayo Matthews, Sam Haines, Griffin Thompson, and Andrew Cavine round out the recruiting class, coming from local schools.  This year's lone transfer, Tanner Huffman, came over from Washington and Jefferson College, and he played locally at California Area High School.

"Losing a big part of our offensive and glass production to graduation, we have a lot of minutes to fill.  We've got some great Senior leadership and some very talented Freshman who can step in and make an immediate impact.  For the first time since we've been here, we have multiple guys that could step right in and fill that void right now," concluded John.

The Roaring Lions open up on Wednesday the 11th of November at Carlow University.  The game will be played at Oakland Pittsburgh PA gymnasium and will broadcast by WMBS 590 Radio.