GAME DAY LINKS --
McKENDREE vs. BELLARMINE -- Thursday, Feb. 18, 2016, 7:30 p.m.
Harry M. Statham Sports Center, Lebanon, Ill.
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McKENDREE SEASON STATISTICS
BELLARMINE SEASON STATISTICS
McKENDREE vs. SOUTHERN INDIANA -- Saturday, Feb. 20, 2016, 3 p.m.
(SENIOR DAY)
Harry M. Statham Sports Center, Lebanon, Ill.
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McKENDREE SEASON STATISTICS
SOUTHERN INDIANA SEASON STATISTICS(LEBANON, Ill., Feb. 17)--The McKendree University men's basketball team will continue its push for a Great Lakes Valley Conference Tournament berth with two more games this week at the Harry M. Statham Sports Center. The Bearcats will host 11th-ranked Bellarmine University Thursday evening at 7:30 p.m. before the University of Southern Indiana provides the opposition on Saturday at 3 p.m.
Saturday's game with USI will mark Senior Day for the McKendree men's basketball program. The Bearcats will honor their four senior players --
Brandon Book (Albers, IL/Breese Central),
John Murphy (Peoria, IL/Richwoods),
David Newton (Rochelle, IL/Rochelle) and
A.J. Schmidt (New Albany, IN/New Albany) -- in a special pre-game ceremony that will begin eight minutes prior to tip-off.
McKendree split a pair of GLVC games last week, rallying to defeat Missouri S&T on Thursday, 108-105, before the top team in the West Division, Drury University, defeated the Bearcats on Saturday, 87-76. The Missouri S&T win was memorable on a pair of different fronts. First, McKendree rallied from a 19-point deficit in the second half -- which included a 12-point margin with less than four minutes to play -- to collect the key GLVC win. It also marked career victory No. 1,100 for head coach
Harry Statham, who is the all-time wins leader in four-year college basketball history.
With its split last week, McKendree is 12-11 overall and 5-10 in conference play. The Bearcats are in a battle for a spot in the field for the GLVC Tournament, which begins on Feb. 28 with first-round games at campus sites. While McKendree is in a race with seven teams for the final three slots in the 12-team post-season tournament, its 5-10 conference record puts the team atop that grouping of seven heading into this weekend's play. There are just three regular season games remaining for all league teams.
David Franklin (O'Fallon, IL/Althoff Catholic), who averaged 30 points in the Bearcats' two games last week, has taken over the scoring lead in the GLVC. Franklin enters Thursday's contest with Bellarmine averaging 20.9 points per game. Max Strus of Lewis sits in second place at 20.4 points per outing. Franklin is also fourth the league in rebounding at 8.1 per game. Franklin, who has scored at least 19 points in each of the Bearcats' last 10 games, is averaging 24.4 points a contest during that span.
Nate Michael (St. Joseph, IL/St. Joseph-Ogden) has set a torrid scoring pace over the last seven games for McKendree as well. Michael has netted at least 17 points in seven consecutive games, and is averaging 24.1 points over that stretch. In his last three games, Michael has torched the nets for 96 points, which is good for 32 points per outing. He has moved into sixth in the GLVC in free throw percentage at 86.8 percent.
ABOUT BELLARMINEThe Knights are ranked 11th in this week's National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) poll and 13th in the D2SIDA Media Poll. Bellarmine has won each of its last two games and six of its last seven contests and sits at 20-4 on the season with a 13-2 record in GLVC play. The Knights are tied atop the conference's East Division standings with the University of Wisconsin-Parkside. Rusty Troutman is the team's leading scorer at 18.8 points per game, a figure that puts him sixth among all GLVC players. The 6-foot-5 junior guard is shooting 58 percent from the field, including a league-best 50.5 percent from three-point range. Yasin Kolo is posting 11.9 points and a team-leading 6.2 rebounds per outing, while George Suggs comes in next at 11.1 points per game. Troutman, Kolo and Suggs, who are all starters for Bellarmine, are each shooting above 50 percent from the field this season.
In the first meeting between the two teams this season back on Dec. 5, 2015 in Louisville, Ky., McKendree held a two-point lead in the later stages of the first half before the host Knights ended the period on a 19-0 run on its way to a 78-53 win. The game was televised nationally on ESPN3.
Darin Winkelman (Steeleville, IL/Steeleville) led a balanced attack for the Bearcats with 12 points and eight rebounds, while
David Franklin (O'Fallon, IL/Althoff Catholic) contributed 11 points, eight rebounds and a team-high five assists.
Brandon Book (Albers, IL/Breese Central) also netted 10 points in the contest for McKendree. Al Davis paced the Knights with 14 points and nine rebounds, while Kolo and Troutman each contributed 12 points and Suggs had 11 in the win.
ABOUT SOUTHERN INDIANAThe Screaming Eagles will bring a 16-9 overall record and 8-7 GLVC slate into its Thursday night game at the University of Illinois Springfield. After winning its first four conference games, Southern Indiana has gone just 4-7 against league foes, which includes a four-game losing streak in late January. The Screaming Eagles are coming off an 86-76 win at home over Maryville University last Saturday. Jeril Taylor leads four USI players scoring in double figures at 16.4 points per outing. Taylor is also the Screaming Eagles' top rebounder at 6.8 a game, and has the most steals of any player in the GLVC with 52. Alex Stein is close behind at 13.8 points per contest while Bobo Drummond is next at 13.2 PPG. Both Stein and Drummond are shooting at least 82 percent from the free throw line this season.
McKendree and USI tipped off the GLVC schedule back on Dec. 3, 2015 in Evanvsille, Ind. The Screaming Eagles built a 12-point halftime lead on its way to an 89-61 win.
Michael Jackson (O'Fallon, IL/O'Fallon) showed the way for the Bearcats with 17 points and six rebounds, while
Darin Winkelman (Steeleville, IL/Steeleville) added 12 points and
Brandon Book (Albers, IL/Breese Central) had 10. Travis Britt came off the bench to lead five Screaming Eagles in double digits with 15 points. Drummond and George Edwards each posted 13 points in the contest.
WHAT'S NEXTThe Bearcats will close out the 2015-16 regular season on Thursday, Feb. 25 by playing host to the University of Illinois Springfield. Tip-off is slated for 7:30 p.m.
