GAME DAY LINKS --
McKENDREE vs. PRINCIPIA -- Saturday, Nov. 24, 2018, 1 p.m.
Statham Center -- Lebanon, Ill.
WATCH LIVE (Bearcat Sports Network)
LIVE STATS
McKENDREE SEASON STATISTICS
PRINCIPIA SEASON STATISTICS
(LEBANON, Ill., Nov. 23)--The McKendree University men's basketball team will close out a two-game home stand Saturday afternoon by hosting Principia College in non-conference play. Tip-off between the Bearcats and Panthers is set for 1 p.m. The contest will be carried live at
www.glvcsn.com/mckendree, beginning with the pre-game show at 12:50 p.m.
The last time McKendree stepped on its home court Tuesday evening against Union University, the Bearcats produced one of the most dramatic finishes in recent memory. With McKendree trailing by one point with 2.8 seconds remaining,
Nate Michael (St. Joseph, IL/St. Joseph-Ogden) took a pass from
Nolan Gerling (Germantown, IL/Mater Dei) and launched a turnaround, 40-foot heave that banked home at the buzzer to give the Bearcats an 80-78 win. Michael's game-winner capped a McKendree comeback from a seven-point deficit with just over four minutes to play.
Rathen Carter (Oklahoma City, OK/Heritage Hall) (pictured) came off the bench to lead the Bearcats with 17 points in just 18 minutes of action.
Giovanni Offard (Freeport, IL/Freeport) added 15 points and four assists, while Gerling contributed 12 points and six rebounds. Michael scored all 10 of his points in the second half as
Logan Kohrmann (Bartelso, IL/Breese Central) pulled down a team-leading eight rebounds for the Bearcats.
Tuesday's win was the first of the 2018-19 season for McKendree, which improved to 1-2 overall. It was also the first victory at McKendree for head coach
Chris Foster, who was making his home debut with the Bearcats against Union University.
Michael enters Saturday's game as the leading scorer this season for McKendree with 13 PPG.
Carrington Bass (Floosmoor, IL/Crete-Monee) is the other Bearcat averaging in double figures at 10.3 PPG (Carter has played in just one of the Bearcats' first three games this season). Offard tops the team in both rebounding (5.3 RPG) and assists (17). Michael has three steals in the Bearcats' first three contests.
Following Saturday's meeting with Principia, McKendree will be on the road for its first two Great Lakes Valley Conference games of the season. The Bearcats will visit the University of Missouri-St. Louis on Thursday (Nov. 29) before returning to St. Louis next Saturday (Dec. 1) to face Maryville University. McKendree's next home game will come on Wednesday, Dec. 5 against Blackburn College.
ABOUT PRINCIPIA
The Panthers are 1-3 this season. Principia played last weekend at the Illinois College Tournament in Jacksonville, Ill., dropping games to both host Illinois College and DePauw University. Micah Paulson and Tre'Vaughn Goodman carry most of the scoring load for the Panthers. Paulson leads the team at 29.3 PPG, while Vaughn is close behind at 27.7 PPG. Clark Davidson is Principia's leading rebounder at 7.8 RPG, and Vaughn is next at 7.3 RPG. Goodman has handed out 14 assists for the Panthers.
McKendree and Principia met in the 2017-18 season opener back on Nov. 11, 2017 at the Statham Center. The Bearcats rolled to an 88-63 triumph as Offard led a balanced attack with 18 points while Carter added 14 points and three blocked shots. McKendree forced 25 turnovers by Principia in the effort.
