McKENDREE at No. 15 Bellarmine -- Thursday, Feb. 28, 8 p.m. ET (7 p.m. CT)
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GAME NOTES

(LEBANON, Ill., Feb. 27)—The 2012-13 McKendree University men's basketball season will come to a close Thursday when the Bearcats visit Louisville, Ky., for a Great Lakes Valley Conference contest against Bellarmine University. Tip-off is set for 8 p.m. ET (7 p.m. CT). The contest can be heard live on the Bearcat Sports Network at www.mckbearcats.com/listenlive.

For McKendree, Thursday's contest will mark the final game in the four-year playing career of guard/forward John Steppe (Effingham, IL/St. Anthony). A three-year starter for the Bearcats, Steppe heads to Louisville with 1,446 career points and sits 26th on McKendree's career scoring list. Steppe needs 21 points to move past Dale Haverman to move into the top 25.

Steppe also has a chance to make a little conference history for the Bearcats in the season finale. Steppe enters the game ranked second in the GLVC in scoring at 18.2 points per game (the GLVC recognizes conference-only statistics for statistical leaders). Steppe trails Alex Hall of Drury University, who holds the top spot at 18.8 points per game. If Steppe can outscore Hall by 10 points in Thursday's GLVC play, then Steppe could give McKendree the league's scoring champion in the Bearcats' first year of conference membership. Drury visits Missouri S & T Thursday evening.

The Bearcats face a Bellarmine team that enters Thursday's play with an overall record of 19-6 along with an 11-6 mark in GLVC play. The Knights are in a three-way tie for third place in the GLVC East Division, and have already locked up one of the 12 berths in the Deaconness/GLVC Basketball Tournament. First-round play begins on Sunday, with play moving to the Ford Center in Evansville, Ind., beginning with the quarterfinal round next Thursday. Bellarmine defeated McKendree in the first meeting of the year back on Jan. 21 at the Statham Center, 71-56. John Steppe (Effingham, IL/St. Anthony) and Clinton Happe (Evansville, IN/F.J. Reitz) each scored 21 points for the Bearcats in the effort. Vance Hall and Keisten Jones led a balanced scoring attack for the Knights with 14 points each.

ABOUT McKENDREE: The Bearcats are 7-20 overall and 1-16 in GLVC play. McKendree was defeated in GLVC play on Saturday at the University of Southern Indiana, 94-64. Clinton Happe (Evansville, IN/F.J. Reitz), who was returning to his hometown of Evansville, Ind., scored 18 of his team-high 24 points in the second half to lead the way for the Bearcats. John Steppe (Effingham, IL/St. Anthony) netted 18 points, while Matt Murphy (Jerseyville, IL/Jersey Community) chipped in with 12 points. McKendree head coach Harry Statham is in his 47th season with the Bearcats, and he has recorded 1,068 wins, which is the most in men's college basketball history at the four-year level.

ABOUT BELLARMINE: The Knights are 19-6 overall and 11-6 in the GLVC. Bellarmine is in a three-way tie for third place in the GLVC East Division. The Knights last played on Saturday, when they dropped a 67-62 decision on the road at Kentucky Wesleyan College. Vance Hall paced Bellarmine with 16 points while Chris Dowe helped out with 14 points and a team-high four assists. Jelani Johnson helped out with 10 points and a team-best seven rebounds for Bellarmine, which lost for the second time in its last three games. Hall leads the Knights in scoring at 15.8 points per game, while he is shooting 57.5 percent from the field and 90.3 percent from the free throw line. Dowe is averaging 14.1 points per outing and has dished out a team-high 116 assists on the year.