GAME DAY LINKS -- 
McKENDREE vs. ROCKHURST -- Thursday, Jan. 12, 2017, 7:30 p.m.
Mason-Halpin Field House -- Kansas City, Mo.
WATCH LIVE (Rockhurst Video)
LIVE STATS
McKENDREE GAME NOTES
McKENDREE SEASON STATISTICS
ROCKHURST SEASON STATISTICS

McKENDREE vs. WILLIAM JEWELL -- Saturday, Jan. 14, 2017, 3 p.m.
Mabee Center -- Liberty, Mo.
WATCH LIVE (William Jewell Video)
LIVE STATS
McKENDREE SEASON STATISTICS
WILLIAM JEWELL SEASON STATISTICS

(LEBANON, Ill., Jan. 12)--The McKendree University men's basketball team will make its first extended road trip of the 2016-17 season this weekend as the Bearcats head to the Kansas City area for a pair of Great Lakes Valley Conference contests. McKendree will face off against Rockhurst University Thursday at 7:30 p.m. before heading to Liberty, Mo., for a Saturday afternoon match-up with William Jewell College. Saturday's game is scheduled to tip at 3 p.m. 

McKendree opens its second straight weekend of cross-divisional play in the GLVC in search of its first conference win of the year. The Bearcats are 6-6 overall and 0-4 in league play. McKendree closed out its season-long, eight-game home stand last Saturday against Truman State with a 95-79 loss to the Bulldogs. David Franklin (O'Fallon, IL/Althoff Catholic) and Nate Michael (St. Joseph, IL/St. Joseph-Ogden) each topped the 20-point mark against Truman State. Franklin poured in a game-high 28 points, while Michael connected for 23 points in the effort. Nolan Gerling (Germantown, IL/Mater Dei) chipped in with 10 points and a season-high five assists. Gerling is the only Bearcat to score in double figures in all 12 games to date for McKendree. Michael, Justin Blanks (Barberton, OH/Norton) and Michael Jackson (O'Fallon, IL/O'Fallon) have each scored at least 10 points in a game eight times entering Thursday's contest at Rockhurst. 

Prior to this weekend, McKendree has played away from the friendly confines of the Harry M. Statham Sports Center in 2016-17. The Bearcats were edged in overtime at Trevecca Nazarene University, 74-70, back on Nov. 26, 2016. In that game, Gerling registered game-high totals of 33 points and 22 rebounds. He is still just one of three players in all of NCAA Division II to post a game with at least 30 points and 20 rebounds. 

In the latest GLVC statistical report, McKendree boasts three of the top 15 scorers in the league. Jackson is eighth overall at 16.5 PPG. Despite coming off the bench, Blanks is 11th in the conference in scoring at 15.6 PPG, while Gerling is tied for 13th at 15.0 PPG. Gerling is second among all GLVC players in rebounding, collecting 9.6 RPG, while he is ninth in field goal percentage at an even 60 percent. At the free throw line, Blanks is second in the conference -- and 11th in NCAA Division II -- by hitting on 91.8 percent of his attempts. 

Head coach Harry Statham begins the weekend with 1,107 career victories. He remains the all-time wins leader in college basketball history at the four-year level. Statham is also atop the list for games coached at the four-year level with 1,593. He is in his 51st season as the head coach at his alma mater. 

Following the trip to the Kansas City area, McKendree will return home to open a three-game home stand Monday evening against the University of Illinois Springfield. Tip-off for that contest will be at 7:30 p.m. The Bearcats will also host the University of Indianapolis next Thursday (Jan. 19) at 7:30 p.m. before entertaining Saint Joseph's College a week from Saturday (Jan. 21) at 3:30 p.m.

ABOUT ROCKHURST
The Hawks enter the weekend with an overall record of 7-6 and a 1-4 mark against GLVC foes. Rockhurst dropped a pair of league contests last week at Bellarmine University (80-71) and the University of Southern Indiana (98-77). Second-year head coach Drew Diener -- a former Saint Louis University product -- has four players averaging in double figures. Alex Hagan, who has played in just five games for Rockhurst, tops the list at 16.2 PPG. He is shooting 63.6 percent from three-point range, knocking down 7-of-11 tries so far. Caleb Warner has connected for 13.7 PPG, while Malachi Nix is next at 11.9. PPG. Nix leads all Hawks' players with 44 assists and is a 47.2 percent shooter from beyond the arc. Gabe Brown leads the GLVC in blocked shots, averaging 2.23 per outing. 

McKendree and Rockhurst battled into overtime during the lone meeting between the two squad in 2015-16, with Rockhurst pulling away late for an 86-80 win. Michael recorded a team-leading 26 points for the Bearcats, while Franklin netted a double-double with 23 points and a team-leading 13 rebounds. Jackson added 13 points in the effort. 

ABOUT WILLIAM JEWELL
The Cardinals are 3-9 overall and 0-5 in the GLVC entering their Thursday night home contest against Illinois Springfield. William Jewell begins the week with an eight-game losing streak, with its last victory coming over Tuskegee University back on Nov. 25. The Cardinals also made the trip east last weekend, falling in decisions at Southern Indiana (88-71) and Bellarmine (91-53). 

Saturday's McKendree/William Jewell meeting will also feature two coaches in the all-time top 10 in victories. McKendree's Harry Statham tops the list with 1,107 wins, while William Jewell's Larry Holley currently sits 10th on the chart with 880 victories. The combined 1,987 wins earned by the two coaches (entering the weekend) will mark the highest combined victory total in college basketball history in a head-to-head meeting. 

Like Rockhurst, William Jewell has four players averaging in double figures. Patrick Whelan leads the Cardinals in scoring at 17.1 PPG. He is shooting 51 percent from the floor and 44.3 percent from three-point range. Jorge Perez-Laham is second on the team in scoring at 13.4 PPG while pacing the Cardinals with 10 blocked shots. Perez-Laham has connected on 89.3 percent of his tries from the free throw line, which is good for fifth in the GLVC. Austin Regier averages a team-best 6.6 rebounds per outing for William Jewell.

In the 2015-16 meeting between the two programs at the Statham Center, the visiting Cardinals built a 37-30 lead at the half before a dominant second-half performance pushed McKendree to a 69-58 triumph. The Bearcats held William Jewell to just 21.4 percent shooting over the final 20 minutes to rally for the win. Jackson led the charge with 22 points, while Michael chipped in with 21 points and eight rebounds.