GAME DAY LINKS --
McKENDREE vs. SOUTHERN INDIANA -- Thursday, Dec. 1, 2016, 7:30 p.m.
Harry M. Statham Sports Center -- Lebanon, Ill.
WATCH LIVE (Bearcat Sports Network)
LIVE STATS
McKENDREE GAME NOTES
McKENDREE SEASON STATISTICS
SOUTHERN INDIANA GAME NOTES
SOUTHERN INDIANA SEASON STATISTICS
McKENDREE vs. BELLARMINE -- Saturday, Dec. 3, 2016, 3:30 p.m.
Harry M. Statham Sports Center -- Lebanon, Ill.
WATCH LIVE (Bearcat Sports Network)
LIVE STATS
McKENDREE GAME NOTES
McKENDREE SEASON STATISTICS
BELLARMINE GAME NOTES
BELLARMINE SEASON STATISTICS
(LEBANON, Ill., Nov. 30)--The McKendree University men's basketball team will open its Great Lakes Valley Conference schedule this weekend by hosting a pair of league foes at the Harry M. Statham Sports Center. The Bearcats will kick off conference action against the University of Southern Indiana Thursday at 7:30 p.m. before taking on seventh-ranked Bellarmine University Saturday afternoon at 3:30 p.m.
McKendree begins its fifth season of competition as members of the GLVC with Thursday's game against USI. The Bearcats bring a 2-2 record into the contest following a 74-70 overtime loss Saturday at Trevecca Nazarene University.
Nolan Gerling (Germantown, IL/Mater Dei) had a career night against the Trojans, posting game-high totals of 33 points and 22 rebounds. Gerling is one of two GLVC players -- and three in all of NCAA Division II -- to register at least 30 points and 20 rebounds in the same game this season.
Nate Michael (St. Joseph, IL/St. Joseph-Ogden) returned to the McKendree lineup after a two-game absence due to injury to add 16 points at Trevecca Nazarene.
The game at Trevecca Nazarene was the Bearcats' lone regular-season match-up away from the Harry M. Statham Sports Center during the first semester of the 2016-17 season. Thursday's meeting with the Screaming Eagles will open a season-long eight-game home stand for McKendree, which will play 16 games in the friendly confines of the Statham Center. The Bearcats will play all six of their December contests at home, along with GLVC battles Jan. 5 and 7 versus Quincy University and Truman State University, respectively.
ABOUT SOUTHERN INDIANA
The Screaming Eagles have not lost in four regular-season games so far in 2016-17. After opening with victories over Lake Erie College and Ashland University in the GLVC/GLIAC Crossver, Southern Indiana traveled across town Nov. 18-19 for games against Florida Southern College and Kentucky Wesleyan College in the Small College Basketball Hall of Fame Classic at the Ford Center in Evansville. USI battled to a 108-94 win over Florida Southern before edging Kentucky Wesleyan 85-81 to remain perfect on the year. The Screaming Eagles boast the top two scorers in the GLVC in sophomore guard Alex Stein (23.5 PPG) and senior guard Jeril Taylor (22.0 PPG). As a team, USI is shooting 49.5 percent from the floor, 42.9 percent from three-point range and a scorching 82.1 percent from the foul line. Junior forward Julius Rafala chips in 18.5 points and a team-leading 6.5 rebounds per outing.
Head coach Rodney Watson is in his eighth season at the helm of the Screaming Eagles' program. Watson has led USi to 162 wins during that span. Following Thursday's game against McKendree, the Screaming Eagles will head north to meet the University of Illinois Springfield Saturday afternoon.
USI swept the two-game series with McKendree last season. The Screaming Eagles won the first meeting 89-61 in Evansville on Dec. 3, 2015, before closing out the sweep with a 101-89 decision at the Statham Center on Feb. 20, 2016.
ABOUT BELLARMINE
The Knights are ranked No. 7 in both the latest National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) Division II ranking and the DII Media Poll. Bellarmine is 4-1 overall, riding a four-game win streak after dropping its season opener against second-ranked Saginaw Valley State University, 68-66. Since that loss, the Knights have bounced back to win their next four games by double-digit margins. Sophomore forward Adam Eberhard sits seventh in the GLVC in scoring at 18.6 points per game. Eberhard has connected on 62.3 percent of his shots from the floor and has also pulled down a team-leading 7.6 rebounds per outing. Senior guards Al Davis (14.0 PPG) and Rusty Troutman (12.0 PPG) also average in double figures for Bellarmine, which leads the conference in free throw percentage (.830) and scoring defense (62.4 PPG).
Scott Davenport is in his 12th season as the head coach at Bellarmine. Davenport guided the Knights to the NCAA Division II national championship in 2010-11. Bellarmine will play Thursday night at Illinois Springfield before visiting the Statham Center Saturday afternoon.
The Knights won both contests versus the Bearcats in 2015-16. On Dec. 5, 2015 in Louisville, Ky., Bellarmine defeated McKendree 78-53 in a game that was televised globally on ESPN3. Then on Feb. 18, 2016 at the Statham Center, the Knights registered a 95-65 triumph.
After the Bellarmine game on Saturday, McKendree will step back into non-conference play on Dec. 7 when Central Christian College (Mo.) comes to Lebanon for a 7:30 p.m. tip-off. The Bearcats will also meet Trevecca Nazarene for the second time this year next Saturday, Dec. 10, in a 7 p.m. tilt.
