GAME DAY LINKS --
McKENDREE vs. WILLIAM JEWELL -- Thursday, Jan. 25, 2018, 7:30 p.m.
Harry M. Statham Sports Center -- Lebanon, Ill.
WATCH LIVE (Bearcat Sports Network)
LIVE STATS
McKENDREE SEASON STATISTICS
WILLIAM JEWELL SEASON STATISTICS

McKENDREE vs. SOUTHERN INDIANA -- Saturday, Jan. 27, 2018, 3 p.m.
Harry M. Statham Sports Center -- Lebanon, Ill.
WATCH LIVE (Bearcat Sports Network)
LIVE STATS
McKENDREE SEASON STATISTICS
SOUTHERN INDIANA SEASON STATISTICS

(LEBANON, Ill., Jan. 24)--The McKendree University men's basketball team will return to the court following a seven-day layoff to wrap up its three-game home stand. The Bearcats will play host to William Jewell College Thursday evening at 7:30 p.m. before entertaining the University of Southern Indiana Saturday afternoon at 3 p.m. Both games will air live on the Bearcat Sports Network at www.glvcsn.com/mckendree. 

McKendree will look to bounce back into the win column following a 69-67 loss last Thursday at home against Quincy University. The Bearcats were defeated on a lay-up by the visiting Hawks with 1.7 seconds remaining. McKendree narrowly missed a potential game-tying tip-in at the buzzer to drop their second buzzer-beater within a five-day span. The Bearcats enter the week with an overall record of 11-7 and a 2-6 mark in Great Lakes Valley Conference play. 

Three Bearcats have started each of the team's 18 games heading into Thursday's contest against William Jewell. Justin Blanks leads the team in scoring at 18.6 PPG, a figure which places him third in the GLVC. Blanks is also third on the squad in rebounding at 4.8 RPG, while he sits fourth in assists with 32. Malcolm Mabry is tied for third on the squad in scoring at 10.8 PPG while he leads McKendree in rebounding at nine per outing. Mabry holds down the No. 4 spot in the league in rebounding. Giovanni Offard rounds out the trio with a team-leading 69 assists and 31 steals. Offard is also scoring 9.4 PPG and is shooting just below 80 percent from the charity stripe. 

Nate Michael, who is second on the Bearcats' squad in scoring at 13.3 PPG, is the league's fourth-best free throw shooter at 85.2 percent. Michael has also knocked down a team-leading 39 three-point field goals through 18 games. 

McKendree will be on the road for a pair of games next week, beginning with an inter-division match-up next Thursday -- Feb. 1 -- at the University of Indianapolis. The Bearcats will also head north on Feb. 3 for a contest at Lewis University.

ABOUT WILLIAM JEWELL COLLEGE
The Cardinals are currently 15-4 overall and 5-4 in the GLVC. William Jewell reeled off 13 wins in its first 14 games before dropping three of its last five. The Cardinals last played on Tuesday in an exhibition contest at the University of Missouri-Kansas City, where they defeated the NCAA Division I Kangaroos by a score of 86-74. WIlliam Jewell's last official game action came on Saturday in a 94-92 loss at Lewis University. 

WJC's Patrick Whelan has taken over the scoring lead in the GLVC at 19.3 points per game. Whelan, who is third on the team in rebounding at 5.3 RPG, is shooting nearly 80 percent from the foul line. Pharroh Gordon is averaging just shy of a double-double at 12.7 PPG and 9.9 RPG. Gordon currently ranks third in the conference in rebounding. 

Thursday's game will also feature a match-up of two of the winningest coaches in men's college basketball history. McKendree's Harry Statham is the all-time wins leader in college basketball history with 1,121 victories in his 52nd season at his alma mater. On the opposite bench will be Larry Holley, who has amassed 901 career wins in a 47-year coaching career. Like Statham, Holley is coaching his alma mater as he is a 1967 William Jewell graduate. 

The two team last faced off on Feb. 13, 2017 in Liberty, Mo., with the host Cardinals recording an 87-81 victory. Justin Blanks poured in a season-high 32 points to show the way for the Bearcats. Blanks had a double-double in the contest as he added 12 rebounds. 

ABOUT THE UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN INDIANA
The Screaming Eagles have a 15-5 season record and a 6-2 GLVC ledger heading into a Thursday meeting at home with the University of Wisconsin-Parkside. USI has won three of its last four outings, including an 85-76 decision last Saturday at home over Truman State University.

Alex Stein leads a trio of Screaming Eagles averaging in double figures at 18.6 points per game. Stein is fourth in the GLVC -- just behind Blanks -- scoring average, while he leads the league in free throw percentage at 95.1 percent. Emmanuel Little paces USI in rebounding at 7.5 RPG, while DayJar Dickson is right behind Little at 7.4 RPG. Mracellous Washington ranks first among all GLVC in steals per game at 2.1 SPG. 

USI swept the regular-season series against McKendree in 2016-17. The Screaming Eagles opened with a 104-58 triumph at the Statham Center on Dec. 1, 2016 before posting an 81-67 win over the Bearcats on Feb. 18, 2017 in Evansville, Ind.