LISTEN LIVE (BEARCAT SPORTS NETWORK)

BELLARMINE: LIVE VIDEO | LIVE STATS

SOUTHERN INDIANA: LIVE VIDEO | LIVE STATS

(LEBANON, Ill., Jan. 29)--For the first time in three weeks, the McKendree University men's basketball team will hit the road for a pair of Great Lakes Valley Conference games. The Bearcats will open the week Thursday night for an 8 p.m. ET tip at Bellarmine University before visiting Evansville, Ind., Saturday at 3:15 p.m. for a contest against the University of Southern Indiana.

Both games can be heard live on the Bearcat Sports Network at www.mckbearcats.com/listenlive. There will be a 10-minute pre-game show prior to tip-off of each contest. 

Playing on the road for the first time since a loss at Truman State University on Jan. 11, McKendree figures to have its hands full in its two scheduled road tilts. Bellarmine was ranked No. 7 last week before falling out of the NABC/NCAA Division II top 25 poll. However, the Knights fell just one vote shy of the No. 25 spot in this week's ranking. Meanwhile, Southern Indiana will bring a No. 16 ranking into its Saturday contest with the Bearcats. 

McKendree won twice in a five-game home stand that wrapped up on Saturday with a 99-91 loss to the University of Indianapolis. The Bearcats averaged nearly 89 points per game over the five contests, topping the century mark in both victories which came against the University of Illinois Springfield and Saint Joseph's College. McKendree is now 8-8 overall and 2-6 in GLVC play. 

Junior guard Mike DiGregorio (Morton Grove, IL/Niles Notre Dame) had a productive week in McKendree's three games last week, averaging nearly 21 points per outing. He poured in a career-high 30 points in the 102-100 overtime win against Illinois Springfield. Junior forward Matt Holmes (Houston, TX/Marshall) averaged a double-double for the week, posting 18 points and 10 rebounds a game. He registered 26 points and 13 rebounds to help the Bearcats to a 102-91 triumph against Saint Joseph's College. Junior guard Mike Springs (Waukegan, IL/Waukegan) distributed the ball extremely well last week, recording 24 assists including 10 in the UIS victory. 

Harry Statham, the all-time wins leader in men's college basketball history, will bring 1,076 victories into the weekend. Statham is in his 48th season as the head coach at his alma mater. 

ABOUT BELLARMINE: The Knights are 13-4 overall, with all four losses coming in GLVC competition. Bellarmine is 5-4 in league play and has dropped its last three contests against East Division foes. The Knights were edged at the University of Wisconsin-Parkside last Thursday, 76-74, before dropping a 76-68 decision at Lewis University last Saturday. Bellarmine is shooting nearly 53 percent from the field, with junior forward Jake Thelen leading the GLVC in field goal percentage at .765. Senior guard Keisten Jones paces the squad in scoring at 15.5 points per game, while Thelen is pulling down a team-best 7.2 rebounds per outing. 

Head coach Scott Davenport is in his ninth season with the program. He led Bellarmine to the 2011 NCAA Division II national championship, and has amassed 191 wins in his nine seasons with the Knights. 

Bellarmine won both meetings with McKendree last season. The Knights collected a 71-56 win over the Bearcats on Jan. 21, 2013 at the Harry M. Statham Sports Center before completing the sweep with an 80-66 triumph on Feb. 28, 2013 in Louisville. The second game was McKendree's 2012-13 season finale. 

ABOUT SOUTHERN INDIANA: The Screaming Eagles are 14-3 on the year and 6-3 in the GLVC. Like Bellarmine, Southern Indiana lost both of its contests last week. The Screaming Eagles were defeated at Lewis last Thursday, 73-63, before suffering an 82-71 setback last Saturday at Wisconsin-Parkside. USI boasts the GLVC's leading rebounder in Aaron Nelson. The senior forward is averaging 13.5 caroms per contest. Nelson also sits third in the league in scoring at 20.5 points a night. Junior guard Gavin Schumann is the only other Screaming Eagles' player averaging in double figures in the scoring column at 10.5 points per game. As a team, USI paces the conference in rebounding at 44.7 RPG. 

In just his fifth season at the helm of the Southern Indiana program, Rodney Watson has already amassed 109 victories with the program. Watson has led the Screaming Eagles to consecutive appearances in the GLVC Tournament championship contest. 

Southern Indiana took both meetings with McKendree in 2012-13. The Screaming Eagles notched a 78-68 win over the Bearcats on Feb. 2 in Lebanon before pulling away for a 94-64 decision on three weeks later -- on Feb. 23 -- in Evansville.