GAME DAY LINKS --
McKENDREE vs. QUINCY -- Thursday, Jan. 5, 2017, 7:30 p.m.
Harry M. Statham Sports Center -- Lebanon, Ill.
WATCH LIVE (Bearcat Sports Network)
LIVE STATS
McKENDREE GAME NOTES
McKENDREE SEASON STATISTICS
QUINCY SEASON STATISTICS
McKENDREE vs. TRUMAN STATE -- Saturday, Jan. 7, 2017, 3:30 p.m.
Harry M. Statham Sports Center -- Lebanon, Ill.
WATCH LIVE (Bearcat Sports Network)
LIVE STATS
McKENDREE GAME NOTES
McKENDREE SEASON STATISTICS
TRUMAN STATE GAME NOTES
TRUMAN STATE SEASON STATISTICS
(LEBANON, Ill., Jan. 4)--The McKendree University men's basketball team swings back into Great Lakes Valley Conference action this weekend by wrapping up its season-long eight-game home stand. The Bearcats host Quincy University Thursday night at 7:30 p.m. before entertaining Truman State in a Saturday matinee at 3:30 p.m. Both games will also be carried live on the Bearcat Sports Network at
www.glvcsn.com/mckendree.
McKendree closed out non-conference play for the 2016-17 season this past Friday with a 96-74 victory at home against Robert Morris University-Peoria. The Bearcats welcomed
David Franklin (O'Fallon, IL/Althoff Catholic) back to the lineup as he dropped a double-double on the Eagles with 29 points and a career-best 14 rebounds. Franklin also dished out six assists in the contest, which marked the fourth consecutive win for McKendree, which is now 6-4 overall. The Bearcats are still in search of their first GLVC triumph of the year, coming into Thursday's meeting versus Quincy with an 0-2 league mark. McKendree was defeated by the University of Southern Indiana and Bellarmine University back in early December.
Not including Franklin's 29-point effort on Friday, the scoring race has tightened considerably for McKendree. Three players --
Michael Jackson (O'Fallon, IL/O'Fallon),
Justin Blanks (Barberton, OH/Norton) and
Nolan Gerling (Germantown, IL/Mater Dei) -- are separated by a little more than a point per game in scoring average entering the weekend. Jackson heads the trio at 17.1 points per contest. He had 23 points in the win over Robert Morris-Peoria. Despite coming off the bench, Blanks in second on the squad in scoring at 17.0 PPG. Gerling rounds out the group at 16.0 PPG. However, Gerling leads the Bearcats -- and is second in the GLVC -- in rebounding at 10.1 per game. Jackson and Blanks rank sixth and tied for seventh, respectively, in scoring in the conference. Blanks is also third in the GLVC in free throw percentage at .929.
McKendree is currently 4-2 on its eight-game home stand. The Bearcats have a 6-3 overall record at the Statham Center, where they won 10 games a year ago. Following the Saturday contest against Truman State, McKendree will play its first league games of the season on the road in the Kansas City area, taking on Rockhurst University next Thursday evening (Jan. 12) before meeting William Jewell College a week from Saturday (Jan. 14).
ABOUT QUINCY
The Hawks are one of the hottest teams in the GLVC entering this week's play. Quincy is 13-1 overall and brings a 12-game win streak to Lebanon. The Hawks are undefeated in GLVC play at 3-0, owning league wins over William Jewell, Rockhurst and Truman State. Quincy leads the GLVC in shooting, knocking down 53.8 percent of its field goal tries. The Hawks are also fourth in the conference in scoring offense at 88.6 points per contest.
Senior forward Joseph Tagarelli is the top scorer in the conference beginning play on Thursday. Tagarelli averages 18.9 points per game, while he is third in rebounding at 9.6 RPG. Senior forward Evan McGaughey has also been a thorn in the Bearcats' side over the last few years. McGaughey comes into Thursday's game second on the team in scoring at 15.2 points per game and is seventh in the league in field goal percentage, hitting just under 63 percent of his tries from the floor. Senior guard Herm Senor II tops all GLVC players in assists with 95 on the for an average of 6.8 per outing.
Quincy sits just outside the latest NABC Division II coaches poll released earlier this week. The Hawks are 27th in the nation and have the second-best win percentage among GLVC teams, trailing only Southern Indiana's perfect 12-0 start.
Last season, Quincy won both meetings against McKendree. The Hawks took both games at home, rolling to a 95-76 decision on Jan. 9, 2016 at Pepsi Arena before outlasting the Bearcats 87-80 in the first round of the GLVC Tournament in Quincy on Feb. 28. In the second game, McKendree built a 10-point lead with just under nine minutes remaining before the host Hawks rallied for the win.
Since joining the GLVC in 2012-13, McKendree is 2-3 against Quincy. The Bearcats are 2-0 at the Statham Center versus the Hawks, winning the last meeting in Lebanon 88-84 on Jan. 10, 2015.
ABOUT TRUMAN STATE
The Bulldogs bring a 10-3 season record and a 2-1 league mark into their Thursday night tilt at the University of Illinois Springfield. Truman State has split its last four games, winning the last time it took the floor back on New Year's Eve against Central Christian College (Mo.), 123-35.
Truman State leads all GLVC teams in three-point field goals made per game. The Bulldogs have averaged 11.54 three-pointers per game on their way to averaging 88 points per contest. Sophomore guard Jake Velky is tied with McKendree's
Justin Blanks (Barberton, OH/Norton) for seventh in the league in scoring at 17 points per game. Velky is blistering the nets from beyond on the arc, hitting 50.8 percent of his tries from long range. He is seventh in the GLVC in three-point field goal percentage. In addition, Velky is fifth in the conference in free throw percentage at .920.
Both McKendree and Truman State are the newest members of the GLVC, and have only met three times previously in conference play. The Bulldogs have won all three meetings, including last season's 84-62 decision on Jan. 7, 2016 at Pershing Arena in Kirksville, Mo. The only time the two programs have met at the Statham Center in GLVC was back on Jan. 8, 2015, which resulted in a 75-71 win for the Bulldogs.
