GAME DAY LINKS --
McKENDREE at ILLINOIS SPRINGFIELD -- Thursday, Feb. 23, 2017, 7:30 p.m.
TRAC -- Springfield, Ill.

LISTEN LIVE (Bearcat Sports Network)
WATCH LIVE (UIS Broadcast)
LIVE STATS

McKENDREE GAME NOTES
McKENDREE SEASON STATISTICS
ILLINOIS SPRINGFIELD SEASON STATISTICS

(LEBANON, Ill., Feb. 22)--The McKendree University men's basketball team will wrap up its 2016-17 regular season Thursday evening with the short trip north to take on the University of Illinois Springfield. Tip-off is set 7:30 p.m. Thursday's game can be heard live on the Bearcat Sports Network (www.glvcsn.com/mckendree) beginning with the pre-game show at approximately 7:20 p.m.

The Bearcats will be looking to end the 2016-17 regular-season campaign on a high note. McKendree enters Thursday's contest wtih an overall record of 9-16 and a 3-14 mark in Great Lakes Valley Conference play .The Bearcats will also be in search of a split in the season series between the two travel partners in the GLVC. The teams battled to the wire in their first contest back on Jan. 16 at the Harry M. Statham Sports Center, with UIS holding off McKendree at the finish, 92-89. Five different players scored in double figures for McKendree in the first game, led by a game-high 28 points from Michael Jackson (O'Fallon, IL/O'Fallon). David Franklin (O'Fallon, IL/Althoff Catholic) added 18 points, while he and Jackson both pulled down seven rebounds in the outing.

Five different players continue to average in double figures for McKendree on the season. Jackson leads the way at 17 points per game, a figure that places him sixth in the GLVC. Justin Blanks (Barberton, OH/Norton) comes off the bench to average 16.1 PPG, which is good for 10th in the conference. Jackson and Blanks are one of three sets of teammates to sit in the top 10 in the league in scoring, joining Jeril Taylor and Alex Stein from the University of Southern Indiana, and Joseph Tagarelli and Evan McGaughey from Quincy University. 

Franklin paces the Bearcats in rebounding at 8.3 RPG, while Nolan Gerling (Germantown, IL/Mater Dei) is next at 6.2 RPG. Kyle Yates (Bethalto, IL/Civic Memorial) tops all McKendree players in two different statistical categories with 76 assists and 27 steals. Despite averaging just under 10 minutes of playing time per contest, Joel Atabo (Liberty, NC/St. Patrick's) has blocked a team-leading 13 shots for the Bearcats. 

McKendree last played on Saturday at Southern Indiana. The Bearcats pushed the No. 14-ranked Screaming Eagles for most of the contest before the hosts pulled away late for an 81-67 triumph. Jackson led the way for McKendree with 21 points, while Blanks chipped in with 14 points in a reserve role. 

ABOUT ILLINOIS SPRINGFIELD
The Prairie Stars are 8-18 on the year and are tied with McKendree in the GLVC standings at 3-14. Illinois Springfield fell behind 45-17 at halftime on Saturday at fourth-ranked Bellarmine University before dropping a 92-55 decision to the Knights. Paxton Harmon was the lone Prairie Star player to score in double figures as he netted 18 points at Bellarmine. 

For the season, UIS features a balanced attack with four players scoring in double figures. Eddie Longmeyer heads the group at 14.1 PPG. Longmeyer also leads the Prairie Stars with 105 assists, and his average of four assist per game is 10th among all GLVC players. Harmon is close behind in the scoring column for Illinois Springfield at 13.8 PPG. Zach Steinberg, who is averaging 11.5 points per contest, is fifth in the league in rebounding at 8.1 RPG. 

McKendree holds a 14-11 edge in the all-time series against Illinois Springfield. The Bearcats have won five of their eight meetings with the Prairie Stars in Springfield, which includes an 86-84 win in the last game at TRAC between the two squads on Jan. 18, 2016.