GAME DAY LINKS --
McKENDREE at WILLIAM JEWELL -- Thursday, Feb. 7, 2019, 7:30 p.m.
Mabee Center -- Liberty, Mo.
WATCH LIVE (William Jewell Broadcast)
LIVE STATS
McKENDREE SEASON STATISTICS
WILLIAM JEWELL SEASON STATISTICS
GLVC STATISTICS
McKENDREE at ROCKHURST -- Saturday, Feb. 9, 2019, 3 p.m.
Mason-Halpin Field House -- Kansas City, Mo.
WATCH LIVE (Rockhurst Broadcast)
LIVE STATS
McKENDREE SEASON STATISTICS
ROCKHURST SEASON STATISTICS
GLVC STATISTICS
(LEBANON, Ill., Feb. 7)--The McKendree University men's basketball team hits the road for a weekend of games in the greater Kansas City area. The Bearcats will take on William Jewell College Thursday evening before closing out the western swing Saturday afternoon at Rockhurst University.
McKendree will look to bounce back into the win column after dropping a 69-61 decision Saturday at home against Lewis University. The Bearcats trailed by as many as 22 points in the first half and saw a furious second-half rally come up just short to the Flyers.
Jacob Donaldson (Effingham, IL/Effingham) netted all 14 of his points in the second half to show the way for McKendree in the effort. The Bearcats moved to 8-12 on the year and 4-7 in Great Lakes Valley Conference play.
Four players continue to average in double figures this season for the Bearcats.
Nate Michael (St. Joseph, IL/St. Joseph-Ogden) leads the way at 14.3 PPG.
Nolan Gerling (Germantown, IL/Mater Dei) is next at 11.8 PPG, while
Logan Kohrmann (Bartelso, IL/Breese Central) is close behind at 11 PPG.
Alijah Thomas (Des Moines, IA/Hoover) rounds out the quartet at 10.2 PPG. Gerling remains the leading rebounder this season for McKendree at 6.1 RPG.
Michael had a career-long streak of 34 consecutive free throws snapped in the second half against Lewis. Michael is still the GLVC's leader at the foul line, shooting 92.1 percent on the year. Gerling is eighth in field goal percentage, connecting on 57.6 percent of his attempts from the floor.
The games at William Jewell and Rockhurst mark the first half of a four-game road trip for McKendree. The Bearcats will visit the University of Southern Indiana and Bellarmine University next week. McKendree will then return to the Harry M. Statham Sports Center for its final three games of the 2018-19 regular season, beginning with a Feb. 23 tilt against the University of Illinois Springfield.
ABOUT WILLIAM JEWELL
The Cardinals are 9-14 overall and 3-8 in the GLVC. William Jewell has lost its last three outings, including an 86-84 decision this past Saturday at the University of Missouri-St. Louis. Keith Hayes led the Cardinals with 29 points against the Tritons, while Eysen Wiley added 14 points in the contest.
Hayes is the leading scorer in the GLVC heading into Thursday's game at 21.4 PPG. Hayes has also made 64 three-point field goals on the year while shooting 86.4 percent from the free throw line. Byron Harp is second on the team -- and fifth in the league -- in scoring at 17.1 PPG. Harp has also dished out a team-best 87 assists.
Larry Holley, who is in the midst of his 48th season as a collegiate head coach, announced earlier this week that he would retire at the conclusion of the 2018-19 season. Holley enters Thursday's game against McKendree with 916 victories, which ranks among the top 10 all-time for collegiate men's basketball coaches.
McKendree was edged by William Jewell 84-78 back on Jan. 25, 2018 in Lebanon in the last meeting between the two teams.
Nate Michael (St. Joseph, IL/St. Joseph-Ogden) had 17 points against the Cardinals while
Nolan Gerling (Germantown, IL/Mater Dei) registered a double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds.
ABOUT ROCKHURST
The Hawks bring a season record of 11-10 and a 5-6 GLVC ledger into their Thursday night home game with Illinois Springfield. Rockhurst outlasted Maryville University on Saturday 70-67 to snap a five-game losing streak. Curtis Lewis paced a balanced attack for the Hawks with 17 points, while Chris Hamil added 15 points and three steals.
Hamil paces Rockhurst in scoring at 14.3 PPG. Hamil has connected for 53 three-pointers this season. Lewis (13.2 PPG) and Quinton Curry (13.2 PPG) are close behind in the scoring column. Lewis leads the Hawks with 78 assists, while Nick Volz is shooting 63.6 percent from the field.
Rockhurst won the 2017-18 contest with McKendree, 83-71, on Feb. 10, 2018 at the Statham Center. Michael had 13 points for McKendree.
