Indians set to open basketball season on November 4

FULTON, Miss. – The men's basketball program has announced its 23-game schedule highlighted by 10 of the Indians' 11 home games being played on Mondays throughout the 2019-20 season.

The Indians, who finished 10-13 last year, will open the season on Nov. 4 against Volunteer State and return to Fulton on Nov. 11 to face Gadsden State. ICC will have only two home dates in December with Lawson State, Dec. 2, and Northwest, Dec. 9, in its North Division opener.

Following the Christmas break, ICC will host home games against Motlow State (Jan. 6), ASU Mid-South (Jan. 13), Coahoma (Jan. 21), Holmes (Jan. 27), Northeast (Feb. 3) and East Mississippi (Feb. 17). The Indians will travel to Booneville on Jan. 9 to face rival Northeast.

Coach Grant Pate returns eight sophomores from last season's all-freshman squad, including leading scorer Ma'Darius Hobson (Houlka).

Hobson averaged 13.9 points and 10 rebounds last year while shooting 56.3 percent from the floor and 62.9 percent from the free throw line. Travonta Doolittle (Hughes, Ark.) returns after averaging 8.3 points and 6.6 assists per game. Kendricus Carlton (Batesville) averaged 8.1 points, while Rance Champ (Shannon) and Shamar Brown (Olive Branch) both chipped in just over seven points a night.

Michael Crump (Baldwyn) and Jeremy Miller (Ackerman) all look to contribute this season after building on the experience earned during their freshman seasons.

The Indians will have six new faces on their roster this season, including Ro'Darien Pendleton (Jackson), Shermontis Mitchell (Jackson), Tyler Smith (Atlanta, GA), Antwon Porter (Byhalia), Brandon Brown (Memphis, Tenn.) and Jalon Beene (Booneville).

All ICC home games are scheduled for 5:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. and will be available on LetsGoICCTV.com/red.

For more information on ICC basketball, follow ICC Athletics on Twitter (@LetsGoICC).