LISTEN LIVE (BEARCAT SPORTS NETWORK)

QUINCY LIVE STATS | QUINCY LIVE VIDEO

TRUMAN STATE LIVE STATS | TRUMAN STATE LIVE VIDEO

(LEBANON, Ill., Jan. 9)--The McKendree University men's basketball team will play its first road games in more than a month when the Bearcats head north for Great Lakes Valley Conference contests at Quincy University on Thursday and Truman State University on Saturday. McKendree and Quincy are slated to tip off Thursday at 7:30 p.m., while the McKendree/Truman State game is set to begin at 3 p.m.

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. 
. 
McKendree will be seeing its first game action in nearly a week following the winter storm that impacted the Midwest. The Bearcats were scheuled to wrap up a five-game home stand on Sunday against Maryville University, but was postponed twice (once on Sunday and again on Monday). That contest has been rescheduled for Monday, Feb. 17 at the Harry M. Statham Sports Center. 

The Bearcats last took the court on Friday at home against the University of Missouri-St. Louis. The Bearcats dropped their GLVC opener to the Tritons by a score of 105-78. McKendree slipped to 6-3 overall and 0-1 in league play. Clinton Happe (Evansville, IN/F.J. Reitz) netted a team-high 21 points, while Mike DiGregorio (Morton Grove, IL/Niles Notre Dame) added 19 points in the effort for the Bearcats. In the process, Happe boosted his career total to 936 points, and needs 64 more to become the 48th member of the team's 1,000-point club. Happe is looking to become the first McKendee player to hit the milestone since former teammate John Steppe (Effingham, IL/St. Anthony) netted his 1,000th career point on Nov. 14, 2012. 

Happe is among several McKendree players ranked among the GLVC statistical leaders. Happe leads the league in minutes played, a category he paced the GLVC in a year ago. He is averaging just over 36 minutes played per contest. Happe is also fifth among all conference players in free throw percentage (.862) and is eighth in scoring at 18.2 PPG. He also sits ninth int he GLVC in assists at 4.11 per outing. 

Arthur Williams (Cairo, IL/Cairo) is tied for second in the GLVC in rebounding, averaging 9.1 caroms per contest. Williams also ranks fifth in the conference in blocked shots with 1.44 a game. DiGregorio holds the No. 5 spot in the GLVC in three-point field goal percentage at .514 and is 10th in minutes played at 31.9 per outing.

ABOUT QUINCY: The Hawks, like McKendree, are still in search of their first GLVC victory of the 2013-14 season. Quincy is 5-8 on the year and 0-3 in the conference. The Hawks have dropped three straight games, including GLVC tilts last week at the University of Wisconsin-Parkside (73-71 on Jan. 3) and Lewis University (85-79 on Jan. 5). Senior guard Chris Babbitt is the lone Quincy player averaging in double figures. Babbitt is posting 15.8 points per game and is shooting 87.1 percent from the free throw line, which is fourth in the GLVC. 

Thursday's game will be just the second meeting between the two schools since the 1976-77 season. McKendree and Quincy met last year on Jan. 5, 2013 at the Statham Center, with the Bearcats holding on for a 67-59 triumph. Mike DiGregorio (Morton Grove, IL/Niles Notre Dame), who was 11-for-11 from the free throw line in the contest, hit several key foul shots down the stretch to give McKendree their lone GLVC win of the 2012-13 campaign.

During Harry Statham's tenure as the McKendree men's basketball coach -- which dates back to the 1966-67 season -- the Bearcats are 3-14 all-time against Quincy. 

ABOUT TRUMAN STATE: The Bulldogs are in their first season as members of the GLVC. They joined the league following a 100-year association with the Mid-American Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA). Truman State started the season in strong fashion, winning its first seven games. However, the Bulldogs have lost three of four contests and sit at 8-3 overall and 1-2 in GLVC play. Truman State came up winless in a pair of conference games last week, falling 82-65 at Lewis on Jan. 3 and 78-57 at Wisconsin-Parkside two days later.

Senior forward Mike Carlson ranks sixth in the GLVC in scoring at 18.8 points per game. Carlson has made nearly 61 percent of his shots from the field and also paces the team in rebounding at 5.5 per contest. Junior guard Reed Mells is ranked among the top 10 in the GLVC in both assists (seventh at 4.4 APG) and steals (fifth at 1.9 SPG). 

Saturday's match-up will mark the first-ever meeting on the basketball court between the two schools.