LIONS WELCOME TWO TRANSFERS


Sam Buxton and Beaumont Beasley will transfer to the University of North Alabama for the 2010-11 season after playing two seasons at the University of Missouri-St. Louis as announced by head coach Bobby Champagne.

Buxton, a 6'5", 220-pound forward played in 24 games as a sophomore at UMSL. The Gibraltar native averaged 3 points and 2 rebounds a game in each of his two seasons for the Tritons. Buxton played at Bayside High School four years and was selected as a European All-Star. He averaged 24 points and 15 rebounds per game helping his team to a first place finish in the Cadiz Province league.

"We are very excited about having Sam join the UNA basketball family. We were really, really impressed with Sam as a person," Champagne said. "We feel Sam has tremendous upside as a player. Sam visited our campus and felt very comfortable academically as well as with his basketball development. I think with his frame and body along with his work habits he really has a chance to develop into a fantastic player at UNA."

"I am very excited about the opportunity to play for Coach Champagne. He is a very good coach with aspirations of taking the program to a high level and I am excited to be on board and participate. North Alabama is very good academically and has a beautiful campus. I just fell in love with it when I came on my visit," Buxton said.

Beasley, a 6'0", 160 - pound guard played in 24 games as a sophomore at UMSL and led the Tritons in scoring for the second consecutive season. The Kansas City, MO native averaged 15 points and 4 rebounds per game. Beasley also paced his team with 5 assists per game. In his initial season he paced the squad scoring 11 points per game while shooting over 50 percent from the floor and ranked second on the team in assists, averaging 3 per game. Beaumont had a career high 26 points versus Southwest Oklahoma State on November 20th. A very quick player, Beasley ended the season thirteenth in the Great Lakes Valley Conference in scoring third in the league for minutes played and fifth in the league in assists.

"We are very excited to have Beaumont join North Alabama Basketball. Beaumont is an unbelievable young man who has a competitive spirit. He is extremely quick, had some great games in each of his seasons in the GLVC," Champagne said. "Beaumont felt it was in his best interest to go to a school where he could compete for championships."

Prior to attending UMSL, Beasley played three years at Lincoln Prep for head coach Marshall Draper he earned first team all-state honors by Missouri Sportswriters and Sportscasters Association as a senior and was selected to metro Sports All-Star and Riverwar All-Star games.

"I think it will be a great move for me. The coaches and community at North Alabama are very supportive and I am looking forward to joining the team. I will be able to work hard, improve my game and compete for a championship," Beasley said.

With the announcement of Buxton and Beasley signing, UNA men's basketball has signed six players during this period and will more than likely sign one more player before the start of the fall semester.