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(LEBANON, Ill., Dec. 16)--The McKendree University men's basketball team will close out the non-conference portion of its schedule this week with a pair of home games at the Harry M. Statham Sports Center. The Bearcats will host Trevecca Nazarene University on Monday before wrapping up the week with Benedictine University-Springfield on Friday.

Both games are set for a 7 p.m. tip-off. The contests can be seen live on the Bearcat Sports Network at www.mckbearcats.com/watchlive, beginning with the pre-game show each night at 6:45 p.m.

With a 5-1 record heading into this week's play, McKendree is off to its best start since the 2009-10 campaign. That year, the Bearcats won their first five games on their way to a 7-1 mark in its first eight games. McKendree has a chance to match that record with victories in its next two contests before heading into Great Lakes Valley Conference play on Jan. 3 at home against the University of Missouri-St. Louis. 

The Bearcats last played on Tuesday, when they opened a five-game home stand with a 94-66 win over Robert Morris University-Springfield. Clinton Happe (Evansville, IN/F.J. Reitz) poured in a career-high 27 points, going 7-of-9 from the field, including four three-point field goals, and a 9-of-10 effort from the fhe free throw line. Mike DiGregorio (Morton Grove, IL/Niles Notre Dame) helped out with 23 points as the Bearcats shot 64.3 percent from the field in the second half to pull away for the win. 

As a team, McKendree ranks among NCAA DIvision II leaders in scoring offense at 91.5 points per game. The Bearcats have connected on just under 52 percent of their field goal attempts, with three players -- Will Kirksey (St. Louis, MO/Lafayette), Matt Holmes (Houston, TX/Marshall) and Arthur Williams (Cairo, IL/Cairo) -- shooting better than 60 percent from the floor. 

Monday's game with Trevecca Nazarene will be the second meeting of the year between the two schools. The Bearcats and Trojans met back on Nov. 30 in Nashville, Tenn., with McKendree holding off a late comeback bid from Trevecca Nazarene to post the 84-80 win. All six players who scored in the game for McKendree reached double figures, led by 19 points from Jeremy Price (Chicago, IL/Curie). Clinton Happe (Evansville, IN/F.J. Reitz) added 18 points and was 14-of-16 from the free throw line, including a perfect 12-for-12 in the second half. Matt Holmes (Houston, TX/Marshall) came off the bench to notch a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds. 

Trevecca Nazarene received a game-high 23 points from David Woodard in the first meeting with McKendree. The Trojans enter Monday with a 4-7 record on the season and are in search of their first road victory of 2013-14. Trevecca Nazarene dropped a 76-68 decision in their last game on Saturday at the University of Illinois Springfield. Woodard is the team's leading scorer at 15.4 points per game, while Byron Sanford averages 14.1 points and leads the Trojans in rebounding at 6.2 boards per outing. 

The McKendree/Benedictine-Springfield game on Friday will mark the first meeting between the two schools. The Bulldogs are currently 4-6 overall and 0-2 in the American Midwest Conference. Benedictine-Springfield was edged on the road at Morthland College in their last game on Saturday, 86-84. Justin Smith leads the Bulldogs in scoring at 14 points per game and has dished out a team-leading 39 assists. Smith also ranks among NAIA leaders in steals, averaging nearly four per contest.