Oct. 19, 2004

RICHARDSON, Texas - Hardin-Simmons' men's basketball team has been selected to finish sixth in the American Southwest Conference West Division race in a preseason poll of coaches, media and SIDs in the league.

Two-time defending ASC West champion Sul Ross State claimed six of the 21 West Division first-place votes while co-favorite Texas Lutheran were named first on 10 ballots. Both SRSU and TLU totaled 149 points to best University of Mary Hardin-Baylor, ASC West runner-up a year ago, who was picked third in preseason voting (132 pts.). McMurry University (94) and Howard Payne University (85) were voted fourth and fifth, respectively, while Hardin-Simmons (79), Concordia University at Austin (42) and Schreiner University (31) fell in at sixth, seventh and eighth in ASC West predictions.

Winners of the 2003 conference championship and runner-up in the 2004 ASC Championship Tournament, Mississippi College collected 11 first-place votes and 145 points to outpace second-place pick University of Texas at Dallas, last season's ASC East co-champion, who totaled 131 points and six first-place votes. East Texas Baptist University (110 pts.) and University of the Ozarks (91) complete the upper half of the ASC East Division. Louisiana College (83), University of Texas-Tyler (77), Austin College (44) and LeTourneau University (39) were picked to finish among the lower half of the division.

The ASC Men's Basketball Championship Tournament field was expanded from four to eight teams by the league's Council of Presidents in late May. The 2005 tournament will be played over three days -- Friday-Sunday, Feb. 25-27 -- at the site of the ASC East Division No. 1 seed. The top four seeded teams in each division advance to the conference postseason party with the champion claiming the Conference title and an automatic berth in the NCAA Division III Championship.

Tommy Stohlhandske of Texas Lutheran and Cedric Isom of East Texas Baptist have been selected the preseason players of the year.