ST. THOMAS, Virgin Islands – Warner University Men's Basketball ranks No. 21 in the NAIA Coaches Top-25 pre-season poll. The ranking is the highest of Sun Conference teams and marks the 5^th straight season the Royals start out inside of the Top-25.
 
Basketball is back and tip-off scheduled for 5:30 p.m. tomorrow!
 
The Royals traveled this morning to St. Thomas, Virgin Islands where they will battle the Bulldogs of Wilberforce University (Oh.) and the Tigers of Doane University (Neb.).
 
Warner University opens its season in neutral territory, hoping its struggles do not follow from 2018. In the 2018-19 season the Royals finished with a 21-11 overall record and a NAIA National Tournament appearance. However, of the 11 losses last season, the Royals were 0-5 in neutral territory.
 
The Royals are primed and ready as they tip-off their season against Wilberforce University. The Bulldogs struggled in 2018-19 finishing with an overall record of 2-15. So far, they've dropped their season opener against St. Xavier (Ill.) with a final score of 68-96. This game will be played tomorrow October 25^th at 5:30 p.m.
 
On Saturday, the Royals will shift to taking on Doane University. The Tigers finished the 2018-19 season with a 9-21 overall record and a 5-15 Great Plains Athletic Conference record. The Tigers dropped their 2019-20 season opener in a close thriller against York (Neb.) with a final score of 65-70. Anthony Laravie led the way for the Tigers offensively with a massive season opening game of 27 points and 4 rebounds. Miguel Lopez, native of the Virgin Islands will be a rebounding force to reckon with in front of his home crowd. Against York, Lopez played just 25 minutes and amassed 11 boards with 9 of them on the defensive side of the ball.
 
The Royals start the season as the No. 21 team in the national and also voted No. 1 in The Sun Conference. The Sun Conference is a historically highly competitive league that boasts several top-25 rankings yearly. This will be the first ever time both Wilberforce and Doane have met Warner on the basketball court in the history of the schools.
 
The Royals turn to veteran returners Darryl Mercer, Jaquez Dickerson and Bart Schild to help lead one of the most talented recruiting classes they've have ever had for men's basketball.