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The Warriors opens the 2014-15 season at the Penguin Challenge tournament, hosted by Dominican, in San Rafael. Stanislaus faces the host Penguins on Friday at 7:30 p.m. and will take on Montana State Billings Saturday night at 5:30 p.m. inside the Conlan Recreation Center.

Friday, 7:30 p.m.
at Dominican, Conlan Rec Center, San Rafael [Live Stats] [Live Video] [Live Audio] - KEFC 100.5 FM

Saturday, 5:30 p.m.
vs. Montana State Billings, Conlan Rec Center, San Rafael [Live Stats] [Live Video] [Live Audio] - KEFC 100.5 FM

Dominican Penguins (2013-14: 22-8)
Series Notes: The Warriors held a 4-2 head-to-head advantage over Dominican with the last meeting in 2012.

Last Time We Met... was Nov. 10, 2012 in the season opener in San Rafael. Ray Mitchell (14), Wes Bartole (13) and Marcus Walters (10) led the Warriors in that game.

About the Penguins: Dominican was picked to finish sixth in the 13-team Pacific West Conference in its preseason coaches poll … Dominican finished second last year with a 15-5 PacWest record … Dominique Taplin (14.4 ppg) and Matt Hayes (12.2) are two key returners.

Montana State Billings Yellowjackets (2013-14: 12-15)
Series Notes: Cal State Stanislaus and Montana State Billings will meet for the first time on Saturday.

Last Time We Met... This is the teams first meeting.

About the Yellowjackets: Montana State Billings features preseason all-conference forward Austin Hudson, who averaged 14.3 points and 7.5 rebounds per game in 2013-14 … The coaches picked the 'Jackets to finish fifth in the 10-team GNAC … Hudson will be joined returners Tyler Nelson and Marc Matthews who figure to play significant roles this season.

Tough Schedule To Start
Cal State Stanislaus will play in two preseason tournaments to begin the season. After the Penguin Challenge this week, the Warriors will play at the CBU Classic, at California Baptist, in Riverside in two weeks. That tournament features preseason No. 24 California Baptist and No. 25 Dixie State.

Front Court To Key Warriors
Led by returning top rebound man, Rob Walters (who probably unofficially also leads the league in time hitting the hard floor with his hustle), the Warriors are poised to be strong in the front court. Last season, Walters averaged 7.9 rebounds per game (7.2 in CCAA games, third best) and 9.0 points per game … Phil Ward, a 6-foor-7 center, returns after a year off, so did forward Wes Bartole who averaged 7.1 points and 5.2 boards in 2012-13 being being sidelined as a medical redshirt … Adding to the mix is new Warrior Raphael Carter-Nowling, a senior transfer from Oakland University, who was one of the best junior college players in 2012.

Read His Stat Lines
CCAA Newcomer of the Year and All-CCAA second teamer Chris Read returns as the top scorer. Read, who had the CCAA's second best shooting percentage (.563) last year, averaged 13.2 points a game as a junior. He had three 20-point games in 2013-14.

Local Talent In Recruiting Class
A number of area prep stars have joined the Warriors program including league MVPs Kyle Gouveia (Calaveras High School; Mother Lode League) and Brennan Pope (Davis; Modesto Metro Conference) plus all-league pick Ryan Donnelly (Central Valley; Western Athletic).

Preseason Tune-Up
In a preseason exhibition contest last Friday, the Warriors beat Bristol University of Anaheim, 78-70, at home. Chris Read led the way with 21 points and another freshman guard from Bakersfield Christian Bayne (Sam Marcus was a Bakersfield product) hit nine free throws to finish with 11 points. Wes Bartole pulled nine rebounds to go with nine points.

Program's Best Record
Cal State Stanislaus set a program record with 23 wins in 2013-14, more than doubled the win-total from the previous year (10). The last time a Stanislaus team posted 20 wins was in 1992-93 under John Jones (20-8), the only other time a Warrior team had 20 wins since Cal State Stanislaus became a Division II program.

20-Win Seasons
Last year's 23-win season was the program's  fourth all-time. The Warriors had 20-plus wins as a Division III program when they went 20-8 in 1986-87 under Bob Thomason. John Jones took the Warriors to a 21-8 record in 1988-89, CSU Stanislaus final year as a Division III program.

1986-87    Bob Thomason    20-8
1988-89    John Jones    21-8
1992-93    John Jones    20-8
2013-14    Larry Reynolds    23-9

First CCAA Tourney Win
In the team's third appearance in the conference tournament, the Warriors didn't just earn their first postseason win as a Division II team, but they also captured the program's first conference title. The Warriors made it to the CCAA Championships two other times (2011 at Humboldt State, 68-54, and 2012 at Cal Poly Pomona, 69-67) and lost in the first round.

Oh, How Sweet It Was
The Warriors made the NCAA Division II tournament for the first time at the end of the last season and posted two victories to advance to the Sweet 16 round. The Warriors beat Seattle Pacific, 80-72, in overtime and took down Cal Poly Pomona 75-69, also in extra time. Chico State rallied late to edge the Warriors, 81-80, in the regional championship game.

Bell to Play in NBA D-League
2013-14 leader Marcus Bell was drafted in the fifth round by the Santa Cruz Warriors of the NBA D-League last month. The Santa Cruz Warriors is affiliated with the Golden State Warriors.

CCAA Basketball Championships
The 2014-15 CCAA Men's & Women's Basketball Championship tournament will be held March 5-7. Eight teams qualify for the event to be held at the Stockton Arena in Stockton. The winner of the tournament would receive the automatic bid for the NCAA tournament.

CCAA Preseason Coaches Poll
The defending CCAA tournament champions Cal State Stanislaus Warriors were picked to finished third in the upcoming season in a preseason poll of the league's head coaches. The Warriors received two first-place votes and earned 98 points, 10 points behind Cal State San Bernardino, which was picked to finish second. Cal Poly Pomona, which received eight first place votes, was the favor to win the 2014-15 title.

Head Coach Larry Reynolds
Larry Reynolds is in his six season as the Warriors' head coach. In five seasons, he has compiled a record of 70-68 with two winning seasons. He is the Warriors' 10th head coach and the program's fourth head coach during the CCAA era …The 2013-14 season was his most successful season at Stanislaus as he led the Warriors to a CCAA Championship while surpassing the school record now with 23 wins — his best season at a Division II school since 2001-02, when he led Cal State San Bernardino to a 28-2 mark. That Coyotes team advanced to the NCAA Championship quarterfinals. While at Long Beach State, Reynolds led the 2006-07 team to the NCAA Tournament after winning the Best West.

Warrior Strong At Home
The 2013-14 Cal State Stanislaus team enjoyed its best home record in the Division II era as the Warriors went 12-2 inside Fitzpatrick Arena. They were 9-2 in CCAA games played at home, compared to a 6-6 overall and 5-6 conference record on the road.

The Ed & Bertha Fitzpatrick Arena
Warrior Arena was renamed Ed & Bertha Fitzpatrick Arena at the start the 2010-11 season. The arena is named for Ed and Bertha Fitzpatrick, owners of Valley Lexus/Valley BMW in Modesto and other car dealerships in the Bay Area. The Fitzpatricks have been long-time supporters of California State University Stanislaus. The gym has been named Warrior Arena since 1999, 21 years after it was built … Since 1998, the Warriors have a 53.1 winning percentage in all home games … The home attendance record is 2,375 set on March 4, 1989 against Nebraska Wesleyan during a Division III regional tournament game.