GAME DAY LINKS --
McKENDREE at EAST CENTRAL -- Saturday, Dec. 8, 2018, 1 p.m.
Kerr Activities Center -- Ada, Okla.
WATCH LIVE (East Central Broadcast)
LIVE STATS
McKENDREE SEASON STATISTICS
EAST CENTRAL SEASON STATISTICS
(LEBANON, Ill., Dec. 7)--The McKendree University men's basketball team will hit the road for a non-conference game at East Central University. Tip-off is set for 1 p.m. in Ada, Okla.
The Bearcats moved above the .500 mark for the first time this season thanks to a 96-84 win Wednesday night at home against Blackburn College. McKendree, which has won four of its last five games, improved to 4-3 with the victory. After a slow start from the free throw line in the first half against the Beavers -- hitting just 1-of-8 attempts -- McKendree turned the tables and had an outstanding second half from the stripe. The Bearcats hit 25-of-27 attempts in the last 20 minutes of play, including a run of 18 consecutive free throws over the final seven minutes of action.
Nate Michael (St. Joseph, IL/St. Joseph-Ogden) led McKendree in the scoring column with 25 points, while
Alijah Thomas (Des Moines, IA/Hoover) finished with 19 points, five assists and three steals.
Giovanni Offard (Freeport, IL/Freeport) tinkered with a triple-double before ending the night with 16 points, seven rebounds and a game-high eight assists.
Carrington Bass (Floosmoor, IL/Crete-Monee) was the fourth and final Bearcat to score in double digits with 13 points.
The 96 points scored against Blackburn marked a season-high for McKendree, In fact, the Bearcats have netted a season-high in points in each of their last two contests after defeating Marvyille University 84-83 last Saturday in St. Louis.
Following Saturday's visit to East Central, McKendree will have a week off for final exams. The Bearcats' next game action will come at the Quincy University Holiday Classic Dec. 15-16 in Quincy, Ill. McKendree will then host Eureka College on Dec. 19 before playing their final exhibition game of the season Dec. 29 at Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa.
ABOUT EAST CENTRAL
The Tigers bring a 3-4 overall record and a 1-2 mark in Great American Conference play into Saturday's battle with the Bearcats. East Central was defeated in a conference game on Tuesday at Oklahoma Baptist University, 76-66. After holding a 36-35 lead at the half, the host Bison used a 17-2 run to build a double-digit lead in holding off the Tigers for the win. Camron Talley led East Central with 20 points, while Tylor Arnold and Da'Rion King each chipped in with 12 points.
Talley is the Tigers' leading scorer this season at 22.2 points per game. King (14.6 PPG) and Arnold (10.0 PPG) also score in double figures. Jalan Brown leads East Central in rebounding at 4.7 RPG. Gerren Jackson has dished out 22 assists and collected 15 steals to pace the Tigers.
This will be the first meeting in the Bearcats' NCAA Division II era that dates back to the 2012-13 season.
