GAME DAY LINKS --
McKENDREE at MISSOURI S&T -- Thursday, Feb. 22, 2018, 7:30 p.m.
Gale Bullman Multi-Purpose Building -- Rolla, Mo.
WATCH LIVE (Missouri S&T Broadcast)
LIVE STATS
McKENDREE SEASON STATISTICS
MISSOURI S&T SEASON STATISTICS
McKENDREE at QUINCY -- Saturday, Feb. 24, 2018, 3:15 p.m.
Pepsi Arena -- Quincy, Ill.
WATCH LIVE (Quincy Broadcast)
LIVE STATS
McKENDREE SEASON STATISTICS
QUINCY SEASON STATISTICS
(LEBANON, Ill., Feb. 21)--The McKendree University men's basketball team will be on the road this week for the final two games of its 2017-18 regular season schedule. The Bearcats will head to Rolla, Mo., on Thursday for a meeting against Missouri S&T before traveling north to face Quincy University on Saturday afternoon.
McKendree enters the last week of regular-season play with an overall record of 12-14. The Bearcats split a pair of games last week in Great Lakes Valley Conference play to move to 3-13 in league play. The Bearcats won an 88-84 thriller in their home finale last Thursday against the University of Missouri-St. Louis, then led most of the way on Saturday at Maryville University before the host Saints rallied for an 86-77 triumph. In last Thursday's victory over UMSL, McKendree shot a sizzling 72.4 percent from the field in the first half (21-of-29) and made all six of its three-point field goal attempts in the period. The Bearcats shot 61.1 percent for the contest (33-of-54), but had to hold off a late comeback bid from the Tritons to notch the victory.
Justin Blanks, who matched a season-high with 31 points in the UMSL win, averaged 26.5 points per game last week to increase his GLVC overall scoring lead. Blanks begins the week at 19.7 points per game, and is the lone player in the league averaging better than 19 points per contest. He is looking to become the second McKendree player in three seasons to capture the GLVC individual scoring crown. David Franklin averaged 21.7 PPG on his way to leading all conference scorers in 2015-16. In addition, Blanks has connected for 63 three-point field goals this season, the most for a Bearcat since Clinton Happe made 82 back in 2012-13.
Blanks is one of four McKendree starters averaging in double figures this season. Nate Michael is second on the team at 12.9 PPG. Michael currently sits at 1,090 career points, which is good for 42nd on the Bearcats' all-time scoring list. Eejuan Riddle holds the No. 41 spot on the Bearcats' career chart with 1,099 points, while Sam Hipple is 40th all-time with 1,108 points.
Nolan Gerling (11.7 PPG) and Malcolm Mabry (10.3 PPG) round out the list of double-figure scorers for McKendree. Mabry is still fourth among all GLVC players in rebounding at 9.4 RPG. He also has a team-leading eight double-doubles on the season, including two in last week's action for McKendree.
As a team, McKendree continues to be one of the top rebounding squads in the GLVC. The Bearcats are third overall in rebounding at 38.1 RPG, while they are fifth in the league in rebounding margin at +4.5 RPG. McKendree is also fourth in the GLVC in steals per game at 6.8.
McKendree head coach
Harry Statham is the all-time wins leader in college basketball history at the four-year level. Statham, who is in his 52nd season at the helm of the Bearcats' program, has 1,122 career wins.
ABOUT MISSOURI S&T
The Miners are 2-22 overall and are winless in 16 GLVC outings in 2017-18. Missouri S&T last saw game action on Saturday, when it dropped a 64-44 decision to visiting Lewis University. Ervin Sarajlic and Chris Harris shared team-high scoring honors with 10 points apiece. Romain Louiserre pulled down a game-high 10 rebounds against the Flyers.
Five different players are averaging in double figures this season for Missouri S&T, led by Harris at 13.7 PPG. Louiserre is right behind Harris in the scoring column at 13.6 PPG, while he leads the Miners in rebounding at 8.2 RPG. Louiserre is currently seventh in the GLVC in rebounding. Sebastian Ferenc, who is posting 12.1 PPG and 7.1 RPG, paces the Miners in shooting at 53.2 percent.
McKendree and Missouri S&T met just once during the 2016-17 season. On Feb. 11, 2017 in Rolla, the Miners posted a 102-88 triumph over the Bearcats. Nate Michael poured in a game-high 31 points to lead the way for McKendree, while Justin Blanks added 25 points in a reserve role. Six different Miners reached double figures in the scoring column, led by a 22-point effort from Randy Holmes, who also had 12 rebounds.
ABOUT QUINCY
The Hawks begin the week with an 8-17 overall record and a 4-12 mark in GLVC action. Quincy will play at UMSL Thursday evening before returning to Pepsi Arena to host McKendree on Saturday. The Hawks rallied in the later stages of the second half on Saturday and held off the University of Illinois Springfield for an 82-79 road win. Marcus Hinton led all players with 35 points and 13 rebounds to lead the way for Quincy. Demetrius Houston added 20 points in the effort.
Houston leads the Hawks in scoring at 14 points per game. Hinton is second on the squad in scoring at 12.9 PPG while he leads Quincy on the glass at 8.2 rebounds per game, a figure that places him sixth in the GLVC. Ryan Briscoe has handed out a team-best 100 assists on the year, and is one of just six players in the conference with at least 100 helpers on the season.
Saturday's game will mark the second meeting of the year between McKendree and Quincy. Back on Jan. 18 at the Harry M. Statham Sports Center, the Hawks edged the Bearcats 69-67 on a lay-up from Marcus Hinton with 1.7 seconds remaining. Nate Michael led McKendree with 23 points while Nolan Gerling added 21 points and nine rebounds. Demetrius Houston and Ryan Briscoe each scored 14 points to lead a balanced attack for Quincy.
