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(LEBANON, Ill., January 21)—The McKendree University men's basketball team will close out a run of three home games in five days when Bellarmine University comes to the Harry M. Statham Sports Center for a Great Lakes Valley Conference match-up on Monday night. Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m.

The Bearcats will be hosting their first NCAA Division II-ranked opponent Monday evening. Bellarmine is ranked No. 12 in the latest NABC/NCAA Division II poll that was released this past Tuesday. The Knights are 12-2 overall and 4-2 in GLVC play. This will be the first of two meetings between McKendree and Bellarmine -- the teams will meet again in the Bearcats' season finale on Feb. 28 in Louisville, Ky.

ABOUT McKENDREE: The Bearcats have an overall record of 7-9 and a 1-5 mark in GLVC play. McKendree has lost its last four games, including a 76-59 decision on Saturday at home against the University of Wisconsin-Parkside. John Steppe (Effingham, IL/St. Anthony) poured in a game-high 22 points to lead the way for the Bearcats, while Clinton Happe (Evansville, IN/F.J. Reitz) chipped in with 14 points and a career-high nine rebounds. Happe is ranked second in the GLVC in scoring at 18.0 points per game, while Steppe sits in fourth place in the league in the same category at 17.4 points a contest. As a team, the Bearcats continue to pace the GLVC in three-point field goal defense, allowing their opponents just 26.6 percent shooting from beyond the arc. Head coach Harry Statham, the all-time wins leader in men's college basketball history, has 1,068 career victories.

ABOUT BELLARMINE: The Knights are 12-2 on the season and 4-2 in the GLVC. Both of Bellarmine's losses this season have come in the St. Louis area. The Knights dropped an 87-82 double-overtime decision on Jan. 10 at the University of Missouri-St. Louis before falling at Maryville University two days later, 69-64. Vance Hall leads Bellarmine in scoring at 15.9 points per contest. Hall has connected on 57.1 percent of his field goal attempts and 88.5 percent of his free throw tries. Chris Dowe, who is second on the squad in scoring at 14.4 PPG, leads the Knights in rebounding at 5.2 caroms per outing. Head coach Scott Davenport is in his eighth season at the helm of the Bellarmine program. He led the Knights to the 2010-11 NCAA Division II national championship.

FIRST TIME FOR EVERYTHING: This will be the first meeting on the basketball court between McKendree and Bellarmine.

STEPPE MILESTONES: John Steppe (Effingham, IL/St. Anthony) is poised to move up on the Bearcats' career list for both scoring and steals. Steppe enters the Bellarmine game with 1,242 points, which puts him in 33rd place on the team's all-time scoring chart. He needs three points to tie Gary Vandeloo for 32nd place, and five points to pull even with Jay Sodini for 31st place in McKendree program history. Steppe also has 130 career steals, which is one behind former teammate Eric Palm for ninth place on the Bearcats' all-time list.