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(LEBANON, Ill., Feb. 12)--It will be a historic match-up when the McKendree University opens its Great Lakes Valley Conference road trip to the Kansas City area when the Bearcats meet William Jewell College Thursday evening. Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m. in Liberty, Mo.

McKendree will also visit Rockhurst University for a Saturday afternoon contest at Rockhurst University. The teams will meet in a 3 p.m. battle. Both games can be heard live on the Bearcat Sports Network at www.mckbearcats.com/listenlive. Both games will begin with a 10-minute pre-game show.

The game will feature a meeting of two coaches who currently rank in the top 15 all-time in men's college basketball history in career victories. McKendree's Harry Statham is the all-time wins leader on the men's side with 1,077 win entering Thursday's game, while William Jewell head coach Larry Holley will bring 852 career victories into the contest. In fact, the 1,929 combined wins between Statham and Holley represents the highest number of triumphs in a head-to-head meeting. It surpasses the previous mark of 1,914 wins set just over a week ago on Feb. 1, when Duke's Mike Krzyzewski (974 prior to the game) squared off against Syracuse head coach Jim Boeheim (940 wins). 

Although long-time coaches at their respective institutions -- Statham is in his 48th season at McKendree, and Holley is in his 35th year at William Jewell -- McKendree and William Jewell have met just twice over the years. The Cardinals have won both contests, taking an 86-72 decision on Nov. 10, 1998 in Lebanon before holding off the Bearcats 94-90 in overtime on Nov. 13, 1999 in Liberty, Mo. 

Thursday's game represents more than just a historic match-up between two coaching legends. Both teams are fighting for a spot in the GLVC Tournament, and a victory would help the cause of each team. McKendree enters the weekend with an overall record of 9-11, while the Bearcats are 3-9 in the GLVC. William Jewell brings an 8-13 overall mark and 4-9 GLVC slate into play.

McKendree is coming off a strong week at the Harry M. Statham Sports Center, where they took then No. 4-ranked Drury University to the limit before falling 78-74 last Thursday before rallying to defeat Missouri S & T Saturday on Senior Day, 106-99. Some history was made against Missouri S & T as junior guard Mike DiGregorio (Morton Grove, IL/Niles Notre Dame) set a new program record by hitting 21-of-22 free throw attempts. That shattered the previous mark of 17 made free throws, which was set by Jay Sodini against St. Francis (Ill.) during the 1981-82 campaign. DiGregorio matched a career-high with 30 points in the win against the Miners, while senior guard Clinton Happe (Evansville, IN/F.J. Reitz) also equaled his career-best by dropping in 27 points in the same contest. 

Happe, who was 9-for-9 from the foul line in Saturday's win, strengthened his lead in the GLVC in free throw percentage. Happe has made 89 percent of his attempts from the charity stripe. Thanks to his record-setting performance on Saturday, DiGregorio has moved  up to fifth in the same category at 82.5 percent.

ABOUT WILLIAM JEWELL: The Cardinals dropped their two GLVC games last week on the road to ranked foes, falling 90-80 at the University of Wisconsin-Parkside and 94-73 at Lewis University. William Jewell features a balanced offensive attack with five players averaging in double figures. Jordan Lewis leads the way at 12.4 points a game. D'vante Mosby paces the Cardinals in rebounds at 8.2 per outing and shoots a team-best 52 percent from the field. Dwight Sistrunk, who is fourth on the squad in scoring at 11.7 points per game, leads the GLVC with 136 assists and has also collected 37 steals. 

The McKendree game will mark the first of a four-game home stand for the Cardinals. Those will mark the final home games of the 2013-14 regular season for William Jewell.

ABOUT ROCKHURST: The Hawks bring a 5-15 overall record and 1-12 GLVC mark into their game on Thursday against the University of Illinois Springfield. Rockhurst has dropped its last eight contests, with its last victory coming on Jan. 11 with a 95-84 triumph on the road at Saint Joseph's College. 

Senior guard Brandon McCann is the top offensive threat for the Hawks. McCann is the only Rockhurst player averaging in double figures at 17.3 points per game. He is shooting nearly 42 percent from three-point range and is just over 85 percent from the free throw line. In addition, McCann is tied for the team lead with 44 assists and is second on the squad with 23 steals. 

Head coach Bill O'Connor is the all-time wins leader in Rockhurst men's basketball history. Now in his 20th season, O'Connor has collected 263 victories with the Hawks.