Texas Snowstorm expected tonight!

Home debut for Lions basketball team

Tradition calls for blizzard on first SAGU basket

WAXAHACHIE, Texas  --  Forecasters are calling for an interior winter blizzard on the campus of Southwestern Assemblies of God University.

In fact, it was just a year ago that this phenomena happened for the first time.

A Texas Snowstorm is expected very early in the home opener for the SAGU Lions basketball game against Dallas Christian College.

Head Coach Donnie Bostwick anticipates a virtual avalanche of snowball facsimiles when his bucketeers score their first basket of the new season, which is slated to start at 7:30pm (CST).

“As always,” Coach Bostwick said, “I encourage our fans to be early, to be loud and to be proud! Especially tonight! Don’t be late! You don’t want to miss this!”

The “Texas Snowstorm” is a new tradition at Southwestern, and was well featured on-line a year, including a popular YouTube view.

Unconfirmed stories have circulated that an increase in snowfall will make tonight’s cold-front a whiteout.

The Lions, 27-11 a year ago, were ranked #26 in the NAIA’s Pre-Season Coaches Poll.

They will feature an up-tempo style on offense, and an aggressive man-to-man defense. Expect to see a constant wave of fresh players every five minutes.

Probable Starting LION-up

With seven new players suiting up, even the starting line-up will have a new look. Three of last year’s first-stringers have either graduated or are not playing this semester.

If last week’s exhibition at Midwestern State University is an indicator, the starting quintet will feature junior Dominique Rambo (Dallas, Tx / Oklahoma Wesleyan Univ., Trinity Christian School) at point guard, with sophomore Jonathan Walter (Garland, Tx / Garland HS) and junior Caleb "Hondo" Gentry (Hondo, Tx / Okla. Wesleyan Univ., Hondo HS) at the wings.

Three other guards who will impact the game are senior James Ford (Victoria, Tx / Faith Academy); redshirt freshman Devante Dunn (Wills Point, Tx / Wills Point HS) and sophomore Tyler Guidry (Houston, Tx / Westbury Christian).

A pair of 6’5 forwards will man the baseline; sophomore Mike Nwelue (Lewisville, Tx / Lewisville HS) and freshman Emmanuel "E-Man" Adoyi (Little Rock, Ark / Parkview HS).

Nwelue (NOO-EL-a-way) and Adoyi (AH-doy, like ‘a boy’) are expected to play key roles this season, along with freshman Justis (YOO-stiss) Norvilas (Lithuania), a 6’6 sniper.

Nathaniel “Duce” Ward (Waco, Tx / Connally HS), a 6'5 forward who led the NAIA in rebounds two years ago, is out for the first ten games.

Rambo (pictured above, right) led the team in scoring last season, netting 17 point per game. He set a new school-record for shots taken in a season. His 84 three-pointers helped the team finish #3 in the NAIA with an average of almost 10 triples per game.

The team’s 2-through-4 leading scorers are currently inactive, so Nwelue, Ford and Walter should fill the void.

Ford and Ward, the team's only seniors, will act as the team's unofficial captains.

Bostwick will fine-tune the line-up and the rotation during the first month of the season in anticipation of the start of the Red River Athletic Conference season (Nov. 29).

#8 ranked Westmont visits SAGU on Nov. 24

SAGU’s next home game is a huge non-conference game looming on the horizon.

SAGU will host a Top 10 team in Westmont College on Saturday, November 24. The game is slated for a 5:00pm (CST) start during Thanksgiving weekend.

Team officials are urging fans to make every effort to fill Sheaffer Center for the clash with the #8 ranked Warriors.

Westmont, from Irvine, Cal, is led by All-American guard Preston Branson, who played at Trinity Christian in Addison, Tx.

Westmont will also play Jarvis Christian College in the Sheaffer Center the night before, Nov. 23, at 7:30pm.

The team's complete schedule and roster can be found on-line at the SAGU website, www.sagu.edu/athletics or at the RRAC website, www.redriverconference.com

Contact: Mark “Link” Warde, SAGU Sports Information Director, at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or at 469-658-2847.