LEBANON, Ill. – McKendree University is set to tip-off its 2021-22 men's basketball season this weekend as the Bearcats travel to Romeoville, Ill., to compete in a GLVC/GLIAC Challenge hosted by Lewis University. The Bearcats start their season Friday, Nov. 12 with a 6 p.m. game against Michigan Tech University, before taking on Northern Michigan on Saturday, Nov. 13 at 1 p.m.

Lewis University will have live video and live in-game statistics of all four games this weekend and fans that are interested in purchasing tickets ahead of time can do so online HERE. 
 
It marks the third time in the last four seasons that McKendree has opened its season against Michigan Tech and Northern Michigan at a GLVC/GLIAC Crossover events as in 2018 the Bearcats opened the season with a 93-70 loss at Northern Michigan and then fell 78-73 at the Harry M. Statham Sports Center in 2019 to Michigan Tech.
 
"We are excited to get our season started this weekend against two high quality regional opponents," first-year McKendree University men's basketball coach George Suggs said. "It is nice having an experienced team that knows what it looks like in this league and knows what it takes to play at a high level."
 
Suggs, who served as an assistant coach for the Bearcats since 2018, was named 26th head coach in the program's history on March 23, 2021 and his first Bearcat team returns three starters and 12 lettermen from last season's 10-9 squad that advanced to the Great Lakes Valley Conference Basketball Tournament for the first time since the 2015-16 season. Suggs' first team welcomes back nearly 65 percent of its scoring from last season.
 
"Almost every team is starting fresh these day, but we have an advantage as we are bringing back four starters from last season and also a lot of guys that have been through the rigors of play in the GLVC for one or two years and this group knows what it takes to come in every day and work," added Suggs, who was a four-year letterwinner at Bellarmine University, where he scored 1,059 points and was a First-Team All-GLVC performer and the league's Defensive Player of the Year in 2015-16.
 
Unlike like season, this year's 2021-22 basketball season will look a lot different than last season as for the first time since 2019-20, the Bearcats will finally get the chance to play in front of fans. During the 2020-21 season that was shortened due to the COVID-19 pandemic, McKendree and the rest of the teams in the GLVC played in empty gyms that had just essential game day personnel inside the gym.
 
Suggs said that getting the chance to play in front of fans this season will add a ton of value to their experience as a student-athlete and gives them an experience they didn't get last season.
 
"Last year, we hosted our first GLVC Tournament game and is all we have is camera man and President Dobbins and his wife Mickey in the stands, so I think having fans back in the stands this season add a ton of value to our game day experience and hopefully those fans in the stands gives us an advantage in some of our big home games we're going to host this year," Suggs added. "It's fun to see people in the stands and I think our fans are dying to see this team play. A lot of people felt like they missed out on seeing a really good team last year and they're excited to return to the gym this year."
 
Among the key returners for the Bearcats this season is junior guard Bryson Bultman (Nashville, Ill./Nashville). Bultman was a First-Team All-GLVC selection and an NABC Second-Team All-Midwest All-District honoree a season ago after averaging 15.5 points per game and leading the Bearcats in field goal percentage (52.4 percent) and assists (74).
 
"Bryson has been great. He made a huge jump from year one to year two and I think he's primed for an even bigger jump this year as he worked his butt off all summer as he was in the gym all the time," said Suggs. "Another guy who deserves a ton of credit for his work during the summer is Brendon (Gooch). That's a first-team All-Conference guy and a Second-Team All-Conference guy that were in the gym all summer getting shots up, getting a workout in and really dedicated themselves in the weight room as well. You can see all the work they put in and how it's going to pay off and I'm fortunate enough to see it every day."
 
Brendon Gooch, who is a senior guard from Belleville, Ill., and a transfer from SIU-Carbondale, was second on the team in scoring (14.7 ppg) and rebounding (7.6 rpg) and shot 49 percent from the field, 46 percent from the 3-point line and 88 percent from the free throw line during the 2020-21 season. Gooch was a Second-Team All-GLVC selection a season ago.
 
The other returning starter from last season for the Bearcats this year is redshirt senior guard Oliver Stephen (Edwardsville, Ill./Southwestern Illinois College). In 2020-21, Stephen averaged 10.2 points and 3.4 rebounds per game and shot 38 percent from the field, 37 percent from the 3-point line and 90 percent at the free throw line.
 
Suggs' 2021-22 team boosts a lot of depth this season due to the number of returners from last year and the coach says several players have really stepped up in preseason workouts and are expected to make contributions this season.
 
Among those players Suggs singled out were sophomore guard Carson Parker (Nashville, Ill./Nashville) and senior forward Luke Hensler (Okawville, Ill./Southwestern Illinois College). In 2020-21, Parker played in 14 games and averaged 7.9 minutes played per game as he averaged 1.4 points and 1.0 rebounds per game and shot 35 percent from the field and 88 percent at the free throw line, while Hensler played in 17 games and averaged 10.5 minutes per game and averaged 2.6 points and 2.0 rebounds per game.
 
"One of the bigger ones that has made big strides during the offseason is Carson (Parker). He was a freshman last season and that jump from freshman to sophomore year is always a big one and once you're used to that speed and that pace and you kind of grow into what you've got to be at this level. He has had a great fall," the McKendree coach added. "I'd have to say the same for Luke (Hensler) as well. When he first got here, he weighed about 190 pounds and struggled with the physicality of the game and that affected his confidence at times, but now especially going into his third year in the program and having really dedicated himself to getting bigger, stronger and tougher and now he's the one that is now imposing his will inside and has made some really great strides. That's always the fun part of this job, seeing these guys develop."
 
Along with returning three starters and 12 lettermen from last season, Suggs and his coaching staff added three freshmen newcomers to its roster and the coach is excited how those newcomers have dedicated themselves to learning each and every day.
 
The freshmen newcomers this season are guard Brendan Harter (St. Louis, Mo./DeSmet Jesuit), guard Chris Porter (Nashville, Ill./Nashville) and guard Landon Zurliene (Fairfield, Ill./Fairfield).
 
"Our three freshmen newcomers have done a great job and have really dedicated themselves to learning, which I think is all you can ask, especially when you are returning a lot of experience and you got to understand playing times a little limited," added Suggs. "They've (the freshmen) done a great job in just trying to learn and develop and we've had a lot of conversations with them that ultimately that's got to be their goal every day is to get better as they make some of those same adjustments and make those same adjustments that Carson and some of those of those others made last year."
 
Suggs said one of the keys to his team having success this season will come down to how well they establish themselves as a solid defensive team.
 
"I think we have to establish ourselves as a solid defensive team. In the past, we've always really been able to score it and have been effective shooting the ball and at times we've been able to win games purely on really, really scoring," said Suggs. "This year we have a line-up that can really be an elite defensive team and if you look at the teams that win our league consistently, it is teams that can do it on both ends of the floor and it's rare in this league to see a team that can score a high level and to make a run in this league and in order for us to have success, we're going to have to do it on both ends of the floor. I think everyone is going to have to expand their role a little bit from last season."
 
Among the key losses for the Bearcats were guard Alijah Thomas and guard/forward Jacob Donaldson, who were both seniors on last season's team and exhausted their eligibility. Thomas was third on the team in scoring at 13.2 points per game and shot 52 percent from the field and 43 percent from the 3-point line, while Donaldson averaged 10.1 points per game and shot 51 percent from the floor and 47 percent from the 3-point line and made 46 treys, which was third most on the team.
 
"We did graduate Alijah (Thomas) and Jacob (Donaldson), who were both contributors last season, so it's not going to be one guy suddenly filling those roles, it spreads out and certain guys have got to step up. I'm excited to kind of see of how it plays out," added the Bearcat coach.
 
Another key to success this season for the Bearcats will be its depth, according to Suggs.
 
"I think we have excellent depth. The nice thing for us is we have about nine guys that are comfortable handling the ball, they all can go post up and they can all shoot the ball," Suggs said. "I think our versatility through our top guys is really, really good and I think that to me adds to depth when you're comfortable playing a guy at three or four positions, you have great depth. You can sub him anywhere and feel pretty good about what he can do. And again, that experience adds to that depth. I think between our experience and versatility, I think we've got great depth and I'm really confident in that group."
 
When asked about the strengths of his team this season, Suggs said he expects his team to look a little different than last season.
 
"I think we're going to look a little bit different than last year. Last year, we shot a lot of threes and shot them at a really high level and we still have a great shooting on this team, but I think we're kind of establishing a little bit of a presence inside as well, a little bit more toughness and scoring around the rim than in years past," added the Bearcats coach. "Our versatility on the defensive end is going to be huge. I think we could run some bigger line-ups out there and not give up a lot defensively and still be able to really, really guard. We're going to be a little bit of a different look than we have in the past few years and I think that's going to give us a lot more options. I also think we'll be tougher inside, but still have really elite shooters spacing the floor."
 
Since 1962, McKendree has had just three men's basketball coaches as Hall of Famer Harry Statham spent 52 years coaching the Bearcats from 1966-2018 and he is currently the third all-time winningest coach in NCAA Basketball history with 1,122 wins, while Chris Foster succeeded Statham in 2018 and spent three years at McKendree before Suggs was introduced as the new coach this past March. Since 1962, McKendree has won a total of 1,156 games and has posted a 1,156-553 record.
 
With the success the program has had in the past, along with his success he had as a player in the league, Suggs has tried to teach his team the things he learned a player and that has helped the program make strides the past few years.
 
"One of my goals to this team is to just give some of what I've learned as a player to these guys. It can be frustrating when you know you aren't having the success that you anticipated and when I first got here that was my main goal was to hopefully impart a little bit of what I learned onto these teams and you've seen it year-to-year that we've gotten better and better," added Suggs. "The first thing I told them was to raise their expectations, don't live to the expectations of years prior, set high goals and hold yourself accountable to getting there and I really think they've really taken that on and I'm proud of them for that."
 
Suggs says that the momentum gained by last's season team playing in the postseason should help this year's team continue to make continued improvement.
 
"When I first got here, they (McKendree) had played in one GLVC Tournament game and I think they were the No. 11 seed and last year was our first time making the tournament since the league went to the eight team format and we got in as the four seed," the Bearcat coach added. "We saw what it was like and it is hard as a coach to say what the intensity looks like in the postseason until they've been there. That's the fortunate thing for us is now if we get in that GLVC Tournament, we know what is looks like and now they know the sacrifices that it takes and that is what you have to draw on to gain that momentum."
 
In the preseason poll, the Bearcats were tabbed to finish fifth in the GLVC East Division Coaches Poll as McKendree received seven points. Southern Indiana was tabbed to win the East Division, while Illinois-Springfield was picked to finish in a tie for second with Lewis University.
 
Suggs expects the league to once again really strong and the COVID year eligibility is also going to make things interesting across the league and college basketball overall.
 
"I think there are some really talented teams. The COVID year eligibility wise is going to make things interesting as there's some seniors that have bounced around and ended up in different places and some that have ended up coming back that otherwise wouldn't have, so I think top to bottom the league is more experienced, similar to us, and I think that's going to be kind of a unique thing to see is what that turns in to," said Suggs. "I think the league is as good as it's ever been, I think there are a lot of high level players in the league and a lot of high level coaches in the league and no matter what, this league is always a tremendous challenge."
 
Much like McKendree, Michigan Tech returns a lot of experienced players from a team that went 15-8 overall and fell 65-62 to Truman State in the championship game of the NCAA Division II Midwest Regional Tournament.
 
The Huskies 2021-22 team features five seniors, three juniors, one sophomore, six returning freshmen and two true freshmen. Among the key returners for Michigan Tech is senior All-American combo guard Owen White, who was named the GLIAC Player of the Year, a First-Team NABC Midwest All-District and a Third-Team CoSIDA Academic All-American. In 2020-21, White started 21 games and led the GLIAC in scoring at 21.2 points per game surpassed 1,000 career points late in the season.
 
During the offseason, longtime Michigan Tech coach Kevin Luke announced his retirement after 27 seasons and 471 career wins and school turned the reins over to longtime assistant coach Josh Buettner, who spent 13 seasons as an assistant coach and one season as an associate coach on Luke's coaching staff.
 
The Huskies turned up for the regular season with a 70-69 exhibition game win on Nov. 3 at NCAA Division I opponent, Ball State University. In that game, Michigan Tech led by as much as 17 points in the second half, before Ball State rallied to tie the game and the Huskies sealed the win with a free throw by White with 33 seconds left in the game. Trent Bell led the way offensively with 17 points, while Eric Carl added 13 points and White chipped in with 12 points and eight rebounds.
 
"Michigan Tech is really, really good. They're coming off of a Sweet 16 game last season where they lost to Truman State in the region championship and they bring back a lot of experienced players, including an All-American in Owen White," the Bearcats coach said about Michigan Tech. "They'll shoot the ball well at multiple positions and play with a lot of toughness and move the really well without the ball. It's going to be a great challenge for us to start the year."
 
Meanwhile, Saturday's opponent, Northern Michigan, went 8-8 last season before their season was cut short before the GLIAC Tournament.
 
Two of the top returners for the Wildcats are senior guard Max Bjorklund and junior forward Ben Wolf. Bjorklund averaged 14.8 points per game last season and was second on the team in both three-point and field goal percentage as he shot 38.2 percent from long distance and 47.5 percent from the field, while Wolf led the team in field goal percentage at 52.3 percent and second on the team in rebounds at 4.3 rebounds per game.
 
During the offseason, NMU added three transfers – Justin Brookens, John Kerr and Nick Wagner. Brookens is a transfer from Division I Western Illinois University, while Kerr transferred from St. Ambrose University of the NAIA and Wagner came to NMU from Division II Bemidji State University.
 
"Northern Michigan is another incredibly talented team. They brought in some really good transfers over the summer and it is going to be another real good challenge for our team," Suggs said. "We're going to find out a lot about ourselves this coming weekend and see how much we've grown and improved from last season."
 
Following this weekend's two games at the GLVC/GLIAC Crossover hosted by Lewis, the Bearcats will open the home portion of its 2021-22 season with a 7:30 p.m. game at the Statham Sports Center on Nov. 18 against Harris-Stowe State University.