GAME DAY LINKS --
McKENDREE vs. ROBERT MORRIS-PEORIA -- Friday, Dec. 30, 2016, 7 p.m.
Harry M. Statham Sports Center -- Lebanon, Ill.
WATCH LIVE (Bearcat Sports Network)
LIVE STATS
McKENDREE GAME NOTES
McKENDREE SEASON STATISTICS
ROBERT MORRIS-PEORIA SEASON STATISTICS
(LEBANON, Ill., Dec. 29)--The McKendree University men's basketball team will see its first game action in more than two weeks Friday evening when the Bearcats take on Robert Morris University-Peoria at the Harry M. Statham Sports Center. Tip-off for the team's final non-conference contest of the 2016-17 season is set for 7 p.m. The game can also be seen live on the Bearcat Sports Network at www.glvcsn.com/mckendree, beginning with the pre-game show at approximately 6:50 p.m.
McKendree last played on Dec. 14 at home against Salem International University. That night, the Bearcats rolled to a 119-92 victory over the Tigers, which marked the most points scored by the program since making the move to NCAA Division II membership in 2012-13. McKendree built a 73-42 lead in the contest by shooting a torrid 71.4 percent from the field.
Nate Michael (St. Joseph, IL/St. Joseph-Ogden) led the offensive explosion with a season-high 27 points for the Bearcats, 22 of which came in the first half.
Justin Blanks (Barberton, OH/Norton) came off the bench to net 22 points, while
Michael Jackson (O'Fallon, IL/O'Fallon) contributed 21 points.
Nolan Gerling (Germantown, IL/Mater Dei) registered a double-double versus Salem International with 14 points and a game-high 10 rebounds. It was the third consecutive win for McKendree, which improved to 5-4 on the year.
Entering the second semester, McKendree has four players averaging in double figures, with three scoring 16 points or better. Blanks leads the quartet at 17.6 points per contest. Blanks also leads the squad in free throw percentage at 92.9 percent. Gerling is next in the scoring column at 16.7 points per game and has connected on just under 60 percent of his field goal attempts. Gerling also paces the Bearcats on the boards, averaging 10.3 rebounds per effort. Jackson is third on the scoring list for McKendree at 16.4 points per game, while Michael rounds out the list of double-digit scorers at 12.6 per contest.
At the point,
Gianni Otto (Remseck, Germany/Otto-Hahn-Gymnasium) (38) and
Kyle Yates (Bethalto, IL/Civic Memorial) (33) have combined for nearly half of McKendree's 150 assists so far this season. The duo has been just as effective on the defensive end of the floor as Otto has accounted for a team-high 15 steals, while Yates is next with 12.
The McKendree offensive attack will be bolstered Friday evening with the return of senior
David Franklin (O'Fallon, IL/Althoff Catholic). Last season, Franklin led the Great Lakes Valley Conference in scoring at 21.7 points per game. He was also the Bearcats' leading rebounder at 8.1 per game and shot 51.4 percent from the field on his way to second-team All-GLVC honors. Franklin had a league-high eight double-doubles in 2015-16, and netted a season-best 37 points in the team's regular-season finale at home against Illinois Springfield.
Friday's contest will also be the sixth of the Bearcats' eight-game home stand, which is the longest of the season for McKendree. Following the Robert Morris-Peoria game, the Bearcats will jump back into GLVC play next week by hosting Quincy University on Jan. 5 and Truman State University on Jan. 7.
