The Red Devils answered the bell in the first test of their expectation-filled 2013-14 season when they won the Herb Kenny Tip-Off Tournament over the weekend of Nov. 15. In the opening game, Dickinson crushed Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts, 91-55, before beating Wesleyan, the tournament’s host, 79-63 on Saturday, Nov. 16. “It’s great to start our season by winning a tournament, but our bigger goals lie ahead,” said co-captain Tucker Landy ’14. “We’re just going to take it one game at a time.”

MCLA and Wesleyan are part of Dickinson’s highly competitive non-conference schedule that will continue with Juniata on Wednesday, Nov. 20. Their conference schedule begins on Saturday, Nov. 23, when they host Haverford. Dickinson was picked as the preseason #1 in the Centennial Conference and received a few national top-25 votes.

Dickinson unveiled its new starting lineup during the opening weekend. Along with returning starters Adam Honig ’14, Tucker Landy, and Gerry Wixted ’15, Brandon Angradi ’16 and Steve Collins ’15 have been inserted into the starting lineup after playing prominent bench roles last season. The new look gives Dickinson better floor spacing and perimeter shooting as all five starters can hit the three, and, the added size of the 6’9” Collins provides a rebounding edge right away. Chris Cox ’15, Ted Hinnenkamp ’16, and Brian Gerney ’14 will receive a majority of the bench minutes.

Dickinson relied on a fast-paced, high-scoring attack to beat MCLA. Honig scored 22 points on 9-13 shooting and Wixted added 18. Dickinson started off on a 9-2 run and never trailed, but, MCLA tied it at 25 with 4:46 left in the first half. Dickinson proceeded to go on a 7-0 run and eventually made it 34-28 at the halftime break.

After shooting 41.9% from the floor in the first half, including 2-11 from three, the Red Devils came out on fire in the second half. They scored 11 points in the opening 2:29 of the half before forcing MCLA to call a timeout. In the first 6:36 of the half, the Red Devils dropped 20 points.

In all, the Red Devils shot 19-28 (67.9%) in the second half and had a double-digit lead from the 18:46 mark on. The wide margin of victory gave five first-years a chance to make their collegiate debut.

Wesleyan defeated Coast Guard 58-48 to advance and face Dickinson in the tournament’s championship. This time, Dickinson relied on pounding the ball inside as Wixted and Collins, the starting big men, combined for 37 points and shot over 70 percent from the field. Honig added 11, Landy and Angradi added 9 each, and Cox hit four of his five shots for a total of 8 points.

Dickinson started off the Wesleyan game on an 11-4 run but did trail, 17-15, with 8:45 left in the first half. The two-point deficit would be the only time Dickinson was trailing all weekend.

The Red Devils maintained a double-digit lead over the final 4:41 of the game and effectively closed out the game by going 11-11 from the free-throw line in the second half. They shot over 60% from the field in each half, finishing at 29-47 (61.7), including 7-15 from three.

The Red Devils host Juniata on Wednesday, Nov. 20, their first game in The Kline Center since last season’s highly-attended NCAA Tournament game. Juniata went 21-9 last season, including a 68-59 win over Dickinson on Nov. 24. Dickinson will begin their conference schedule on Saturday, Nov. 23 when they take on Haverford at 2:00 p.m. in The Kline Center. Last season, Dickinson and Haverford split, winning one game apiece.