GAME DAY LINKS --
McKENDREE vs. ROBERT MORRIS-PEORIA -- Friday, Dec. 29, 2017, 7 p.m.
Harry M. Statham Sports Center -- Lebanon, Ill.

WATCH LIVE (Bearcat Sports Network)
LIVE STATS
McKENDREE SEASON STATISTICS
ROBERT MORRIS-PEORIA SEASON STATISTICS

(LEBANON, Ill,. Dec. 28)--The McKendree University men's basketball team returns from its holiday break to face Robert Morris University-Peoria in the Bearcats' final non-conference tilt of the 2017-18 season. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. at the Harry M. Statham Sports Center. The game will also air live on the Bearcat Sports Network at www.glvcsn.com/mckendree.

McKendree enters Friday's contest riding a season-long four-game win streak. The Bearcats rolled into the break with two victories last week down in Puerto Rico to move to 9-2 on the season. A win over Robert Morris-Peoria on Friday would give McKendree 10 victories heading into the month of January for the first time since the 2009-10 campaign. The Bearcats' current 9-2 mark gives the team a winning percentage of .818, which is the second-highest for the program in its NCAA Division I era heading into the holiday break. McKendree went 6-1 prior to Christmas back in 2014-15. 

In the pre-holiday Great Lakes Valley Conference statistical report, McKendree sits third in the league in scoring offense at 87.4 PPG, and second in scoring defense at 68.9 PPG. The Bearcats top the conference in scoring margin, outpacing their opponents by 18.5 PPG. That figure places McKendree fifth among all NCAA Division II programs in scoring margin. McKendree also ranks as the top rebounding squad in the GLVC, pulling down 42.5 rebounds per outing, and leads the conference in rebounding margin at +10.5 RPG. That also puts the Bearcats 10th in NCAA Division in rebounding margin. 

All five McKendree starters are averaging in double figures entering the Robert Morris-Peoria contest. Justin Blanks continues to lead the GLVC in scoring at 20.6 PPG. The reigning conference Player of the Week has reached 20 points in the scoring column nine times this season, including a season-best 31 points against the Universtiy of Puerto Rico-Rio Piedras back on Dec. 17. Nate Michael, the Bearcats second-leading scorer this season at 13.4 PPG, ranks 19th in the GLVC in scoring. 

Malcolm Mabry, who is third on the team in scoring at 11 PPG, sits fourth in the conference in rebounding at 9.7 RPG. Mabry has registered three straight games with at least 10 rebounds, and five such contests overall through 11 games. Giovanni Offard (10.5 PPG) and Nolan Gerling (10 PPG) round out the list of Bearcats averaging in double figures. Gerling holds down the No. 9 spot in the league in field goal percentage as he has connected on 61.3 percent of his attempts from the floo. 

Offard ranks sixth in the GLVC in assists, dishing out four per game. Gianni Otto is close behind in ninth place at 3.5 APG. McKendree is the only GLVC program with two players sitting in the top 10 in assists. Otto and Offard are also among the top 10 in the league in steals. Otto ranks fourth in the category at 1.9 SPG, while Offard sits sixth at 1.7 SPG. 

Following Friday's game with Robert Morris-Peoria, McKendree will play its final 16 games of the 2017-18 season against GLVC foes. The Bearcats jump back into conference play on Thursday, Jan. 4 with a final visit to the University of Wisconsin-Parkside. McKendree will return home to begin a three-game league home stand on Saturday, Jan. 6 versus the University of Illinois Springfield. 

ABOUT ROBERT MORRIS-PEORIA
The Eagles are 2-10 overall prior to a Thursday night contest at Lewis University. Robert Morris-Peoria defeated Andrews University 62-60 back on Dec. 14 in its last game action. Jamor Stewart, who netted a team-high 24 points against Andrews, is the Eagles' leading scorer at 17.1 PPG. Reggie Davis is next in the scoring column at 13.8 PPG. Travis Morgan tops the team in rebounding at 6.8 RPG. 

Robert Morris-Peoria is 0-4 against GLVC opponents prior to its Thursday meeting with Lewis. The Eagles have dropped games with the University of Illinois Springfield (100-80 on Nov. 17), Missouri S&T (79-60 on Nov 18), the University of Missouri-St. Louis (83-64 on Nov. 25) and Wisconsin-Parkside (103-57 on Dec. 9). 

McKendree and Robert Morris-Peoria last squared off on Dec. 30, 2016 at the Statham Center, when the Bearcats rolled to a 96-74 win. Five Bearcats scored in double figures in the effort, led by a 29-point, 14-rebound performance from David Franklin.