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(LEBANON, Ill., Jan. 3)--Following a two-week layoff, the McKendree University men's basketball team is set to get back to action by jumping into Great Lakes Valley Conference play with a pair of games this weekend. The Bearcats will open GLVC play on Friday at home against the University of Missouri-St. Louis, while they will entertain Maryville University to wrap up a five-game home stand on Sunday. Friday's contest is scheduled for a 7:30 p.m. tip, while Sunday's tilt is slated to begin at 3 p.m.

Both games will be carried live on the Bearcat Sports Network, beginning with the pre-game show 15 minutes prior to tip-off. Joe Zydlo will have the play-by-play call for both contests and is slated to be joined by Kent Zimmerman on color commentary.

McKendree brings a 6-2 overall record into the second half of its 2013-14 season. The Bearcats have not played since Dec. 20, when they outlasted Benedictine University-Springfield in double overtime, 80-75. It marked the first time since the end of the 2009-10 season -- a span of exactly 100 games -- that McKendree was involved in an overtime contest. It was also the first time in 18 years that the Bearcats played in a double-overtime game. On Nov. 11, 1995, McKendree scratched out an 84-82 victory at Teikyo Marycrest University in two overtimes. 

Clinton Happe (Evansville, IN/F.J. Reitz), who had a team-high 26 points in the win over Benedictine-Springfield, leads the Bearcats in scoring at 17.9 points per game. Happe is closing on in the Bearcats' 1,000-point club. He enters the weekend with 915 points, needing 85 more to become the 48th member of the exclusive club and the first since former teammate John Steppe (Effingham, IL/St. Anthony) hit the 1,000-point mark back on Nov. 14, 2012. In addition to the 1,000-point watch, Happe leads the GLVC in minutes played, averaging 36.9 per contest. Happe led the league in minutes played last season. 

Arthur Williams (Cairo, IL/Cairo) is currently second in the GLVC in rebounding at 9.8 per outing. Williams had a game-high 13 boards in the Bearcats' game with Benedictine-Springfield back on Dec. 20. That marked his fourth double-digit rebounding effort of the 2013-14 season. 

McKendree head coach Harry Statham, the all-time wins leader in men's college basketball history, will be in search of career win No. 1,075 against UMSL. Statham has a career record of 1,074-436 in his 48th season. 

Exactly one year ago -- Jan. 3, 2013 -- McKendree made its GLVC debut with a 69-66 loss at home to the University of Illinois Springfield. Counting that contest along with the Bearcats' days as members of the NAIA's American Midwest Conference, McKendree is 15-5 in conference openers since 1992-93. 

ABOUT MISSOURI-ST. LOUIS: The Tritons come to the Harry M. Statham Sports Center with a season record of 7-2. UMSL has already played one GLVC contest this season, which was a 74-69 home win over Maryville University back on Dec. 7. Head coach Bob Sundvold is in his first season at UMSL and looks to junior guard/forward Aareon Smith to lead the way for the Tritons. Smith is averaging a team-best 14.6 points per game along with 6.9 rebounds per contest. He has made better than 51 percent of his field goal attempts as well. Five different players average in double figures for the Tritons, who have won the five meetings against McKendree. The Bearcats' last win in the all-time series with UMSL came back in the 1976-77 season, a 101-81 decision in Lebanon. 

ABOUT MARYVILLE: The Saints are 6-3 on the year with the loss to UMSL as the only GLVC game on the team's slate. Maryville will play at Illinois Springfield Friday night before taking on the Bearcats. Head coach Kevin Carroll led Maryville to a 23-win campaign a year ago, and is in his fourth season with the Saints. Maryville has two players averaging in double figures in the scoring column, led by junior guard Armon Provo and his 16.3 points per contest. Provo has made 55.6 percent of his shots from the field and a whopping 95 percent of his free throw attempts. Maryville edged McKendree in the only meeting between the two schools last season, 72-69 in St. Louis.