WILLIMANTIC, Conn. -- The Eastern Connecticut State University men's basketball team returned to action in a full team setting after a layoff of more than two months Sunday afternoon in preparation for an abbreviated season in 2020-21.
 
Limited to one-on-one instruction after October 24 due to the pandemic, the Warriors went through a two-hour practice as a team Sunday at Francis E. Geissler Gymnasium under the direction of 19^th-year head coach Bill Geitner and assistants Bill Strand, Trachone Preston and Jason Harlow.
 
The current plan is to play ten Little East Conference regular-season games prior to an LEC tournament which will involve the top four teams in early March. In addition to Eastern, Castleton University, Keene State College, University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, Plymouth State University and Rhode Island College have chosen to compete this winter, with the University of Massachusetts Boston, University of Southern Maine and Western Connecticut opting out.
 
Eastern will play each LEC opponent in a home-and-home series beginning  Wednesday, Jan. 23 at Plymouth State. The Warriors are scheduled to open their five-game home conference season afternoon of Saturday, Jan. 30.
 
The ten-game conference season may be augmented by several non-conference games, as well. 
 
After winning or sharing six straight LEC regular-season titles, Eastern struggled to a share of seventh place last year and failed to qualify for the LEC tournament for the first time.
 
Two-time All-LEC guard and 1,000-point scorer Jake Collagan is among four key losses from last year's 10-15 season, but five regulars return in senior guard Cory Muckle (Westbrook), junior guards Thomas Close (East Hampton) and Tyreice Woods (Hartford), junior forward Sharown Fowler (Springfield, MA) and sophomore forward Rakesh Tibby (East Hartford). Also returning is junior guard Nick Casiano (Rocky Hill), who saw limited time off the bench last year.
 

A 1,000-point scorer in just three seasons, Muckle was a second-team All-LEC selection as a sophomore. Muckle is the top returning scorer (14.5 ppg.) and three-point shooter (71) while Fowler is the top returning rebounder (6.0 rpg.) and Close the returning leader in assists (3.0 apg.).
 
Traditionally one of the LEC's top offensive and defensive teams, Eastern was ranked seventh in the former and fifth in the latter categories last year.  Collagan was the only Eastern player ranked in the LEC Top 10 last year in scoring, while Muckle was second in three-point field goals (3.0).
 
The winningest coach in program history, Geitner has compiled a 305-193 record in 18 years and recorded his 300^th career coaching victory last January with an 87-83 comeback win over UMass Dartmouth at Geissler Gym. He is 178-108 in LEC regular-season and tournament competition and has led the Warriors to seven LEC regular-season and three LEC tournament titles and nine 20-win seasons in the last 11 years.