GAME DAY LINKS --
McKENDREE vs. LINCOLN -- Tuesday, Nov. 24, 2015, 7 p.m. -- Harry M. Statham Sports Center, Lebanon, Ill.
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McKENDREE vs. ROBERT MORRIS-SPRINGFIELD -- Wednesday, Nov. 25, 2015, 7 p.m. -- Harry M. Statham Sports Center, Lebanon, Ill.
WATCH LIVE (Bearcat Sports Network) | LIVE STATS
McKENDREE vs. TREVECCA NAZARENE -- Saturday, Nov. 28, 2015, 4 p.m. -- Trojan Fieldhouse, Nashville, Tenn.
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(LEBANON, Ill., Nov. 24)--The action for the McKendree University men's basketball team heats up as the Thanksgiving holiday approaches with three games on the docket this week. The Bearcats will host Lincoln University and Robert Morris University-Springfield back-to-back nights on Tuesday and Wednesday before making their first road trip of the 2015-16 regular season to Trevecca Nazarene University on Saturday.
McKendree has not played since last Tuesday, when it tipped off the 2015-16 regular season slate with a 90-88 victory at the Harry M. Statham Sports Center against Blackburn College.
A.J. Schmidt (New Albany, IN/New Albany) sank a pair of free throws with 11.4 seconds remaining to snap an 88-88 tie and lift the Bearcats to the win.
David Franklin (O'Fallon, IL/Althoff Catholic) posted team-high totals of 24 points and six rebounds to show the way for McKendree.
Michael Jackson (O'Fallon, IL/O'Fallon) chipped in with 21 points and five rebounds, while
Brandon Book (Albers, IL/Breese Central) came off the bench to net 11 points in the effort and collect a game-high four steals. The victory marked the third straight year that the Bearcats opened the regular season with a win.
It was also win No. 1,089 in the career of McKendree head coach
Harry Statham. Already the all-time wins leader in men's college basketball history, Statham moved another victory closer to former University of Tennessee women's basketball coach Pat Summitt for the all-time mark for wins by a basketball coach at the four-year level, men's or women's. Summitt earned 1,098 wins during her storied career with the Lady Vols.
Lincoln comes to the Statham Center with a 3-1 overall record. The Blue Tigers are coming off their first loss of the season, a 91-83 setback at Harris-Stowe State University on Saturday. Anthony Virdure -- who is the leading scorer on the season for Lincoln -- dropped in a team-best 24 points against the Hornets. Jaylon Smith added 17 points in the contest. Virdure is averaging 26.5 points through the first four games of the season for the Blue Tigers, shooting nearly 53 percent from the field in the process. Smith checks in at 16.5 points and four rebounds per outing. Lincoln, like McKendree will be playing the first of back-to-back nights on Tuesday. The Blue Tigers will travel west following their match-up with the Bearcats' for an exhibition game against the University of Missouri-Kansas City.
McKendree and Lincoln have not played since the 2013-14 season, when the teams split a home-and-home series, with each squad winning on its home floor. The Bearcats posted an 84-71 triumph in the last meeting back on Nov. 23, 2013. This will be the 14th meeting between the two programs, with Lincoln holding a slight 7-6 edge.
Robert Morris-Springfield has dropped all three of its games to date ahead of the Wednesday contest at McKendree. The Eagles visited Quincy University on Saturday, with the host Hawks recording a 115-65 win. Brandel Griggs poured in a team-high 35 points at Quincy, going 13-of-24 from the field while hitting 8-of-9 attempts from the free throw line. Tony Hays chipped in with 18 points against Quincy. Robert Morris-Springfield also has losses against Morthland College (84-68 on Nov. 7) and the University of Illinois Springfield (101-52 on Nov.18 in Springfield, Ill.) this season.
The Bearcats hosted Robert Morris-Springfield just over a year ago -- Nov. 14, 2014 -- in the 2014-15 regular-season opener for McKendree.
Brandon Book (Albers, IL/Breese Central) led a balanced attack with 16 points in helping the Bearcats to a 74-45 win over the Eagles.
Trevecca Nazarene is off to a 1-4 start to its 2015-16 season. The Trojans appeared in the University of Alabama-Huntsville Classic last weekend and were defeated in both contests. Trevecca Nazarene faced a pair of schools from the Gulf South Conference, falling 66-61 to Shorter University on Friday night before host Alabama-Huntsville notched an 85-78 win in Saturday's game. Byron Sanford is leading the Trojans in both scoring (19.4 PPG) and rebounding (8.0 RPG). Matt Gamberoni, who is next in the scoring column for Trevecca Nazarene at 11 points per outing, is shooting 55.3 percent from the floor and is pulling down 7.6 rebounds per game.
Since the beginning of the 2012-13 season, McKendree and Trevecca Nazarene have met twice a year on the basketball court. The teams have split their six meetings. Last season, each team notched a road victory in the series. The Bearcats battled to a 90-81 win in Nashville on Nov. 29, 2014 before the Trojans returned the favor with a 71-62 triumph on Dec. 13, 2014 at the Statham Center.
Following the busy three-game slate this week, McKendree will be on the road to open the Great Lakes Valley Conference portion of its 2015-16 schedule with games at the University of Southern Indiana on Dec. 3 and at Bellarmine University on Dec. 5.
