LEBANON, Ill. – McKendree University men's basketball will return home to the Harry M. Statham Sports Center this weekend to play two Great Lakes Valley Conference games against Quincy and the University of Illinois-Springfield.

The Bearcats will hope the homestand on Thursday, Jan. 20 with a 7:30 p.m. game against Quincy University, before hosting meeting UIS for the second time this season on Saturday, Jan. 22 at 3 p.m.

This weekend's games will complete a stretch of three games in six days for the Bearcats as they opened the week on Monday with a 77-71 victory in Evansville, Ind., against the University of Southern Indiana.

McKendree comes into this week's home games sporting a 7-4 overall record and 3-4 mark in the GLVC following its win at USI. The victory at USI extended the Bearcats winning streak to two straight games as they picked up a 74-73 home upset win on Jan. 8 over then 16th-ranked Truman State.

In Monday's win over USI, the Bearcats scored a season high 49 points in the second half to turn a 38-28 halftime deficit into a 77-71 victory. Along with scoring a season high 49 second half points, the Bearcats defense held the Screaming Eagles to 14 percent shooting (3-for-21) from the 3-point line.

Against USI, five Bearcats scored in double figures as junior guard Bryson Bultman (Nashville, Ill./Nashville) led the way with a team high 17 points. In addition to Bultman, redshirt senior guard Brendon Gooch (Belleville, Ill./SIU-Carbondale) recorded his second straight double-double as he had 13 points and 14 rebounds, while senior forward Luke Hensler (Okawville, Ill./SWIC) added 13 points. Redshirt senior guard Oliver Stephen (Edwardsville, Ill./SWIC) and sophomore guard Carson Parker (Nashville, Ill./Nashville) each had 12 points in the win.

Through 11 games this season, Bultman leads the Bearcats and is fourth in the league in scoring as he is averaging 17.3 points per game and has tallied double figures in scoring in 10 of 11 games, including nine straight double-digit scoring efforts. In addition to his scoring, he is averaging 6.2 rebounds and 3.6 assists per game and is leads the league in minutes played as he is averaging 36.5 minutes per game and has an assist/turnover ratio of 1.26.

Along with Bultman, Gooch is second on the team in scoring as he is averaging 9.0 points and 7.0 rebounds per game and is shooting 44 percent from the field, 35 percent from the 3-point line and 79 percent from the free throw line and has tallied three straight games of scoring 10 or more points. Paker is the team's No. 3 scorer as he is averaging 8.9 points per game and leads the team in rebounding at 6.3 boards per game and is shooting 48 percent from the floor and has reached double digits in scoring six times, including two consecutive double-digit scoring efforts.

As a team, McKendree is averaging 66.7 points per game and had scored 74 or more points in six of its first 11 games but is averaging just 61.4 points per game in GLVC play, including scoring 77 points in its last outing against USI. Additionally, the Bearcats are outrebounding its foes by 1.4 boards per game and are shooting 45 percent from the field, 35 percent from the 3-point line and 68 percent from the free throw line.

Perhaps the biggest strength this season for the Bearcats this season has been its defense as McKendree enters this week's action second in the league in scoring defense as they are allowing 63.7 points per game and have held all but three opponents under 70 points as Lewis scored 78 in a 78-62 win on Dec. 4, Truman scored 73 and USI tallied 71 last time out. In addition, McKendree leads the GLVC and is 21st nationally in 3-point field goal defense (29.2 percent) and is fifth in the league and 30th in Division II in field goal percentage defense (40.5 percent).

Meanwhile, Thursday's opponent, Quincy comes into play sporting a 9-9 overall record and a 2-6 mark in the GLVC. The Hawks have lost three straight games, including suffering a 90-84 home overtime loss on Monday against Missouri S&T. The Hawks haven't won a game since picking up a 73-69 victory on Jan. 6 at home against Southwest Baptist.

Quincy comes into play this week as one of the top scoring teams in the league as they are averaging 78.4 points per game and have scored 80 or more points in nine games and is averaging nearly 75 points per game in GLVC play. In addition, QU leads the league in both 3-point field goal attempts (394) and free throw attempts (331) and is 14th nationally in Division II in made free throws as they have 246 on the year. Four Hawks have made 20 or more treys on the season.

As a team, Quincy is shooting 45 percent from the field, 35 percent from the 3-point line and 74 percent from the free throw line and has a +2.4 rebound margin. Defensively, QU is allowing 73.5 points per game and their opponents are shooting 47 percent from the field, 34 percent from the 3-point line and 72 percent at the free throw line.

Junior guard Malik Hardmon is one of three Quincy players averaging in double figures as he is averaging 14.6 points per game and leads the GLVC in offensive rebounds with 51 and has gone to the free throw line 71 times in 16 games. Additionally, Hardmon is averaging 5.3 rebounds per game and has blocked 12 shots.

In addition to Hardmon, sophomore guard/forward Paul Zlinskas is averaging 11.1 points and 3.1 rebounds per game and is shooting 52 percent from the field, 35 percent from the 3-point line and 85 percent from the free throw line, while sophomore guard Nate Shockey is the third double-digit scorer as he is averaging 10.2 points and 3.1 rebounds per game and leads the team with 35 assists and is shooting 43 percent from the field.

Quincy is coached by Ryan Hellenthal, who is in his fifth season with the Hawks and has compiled a 46-76 overall record and is 23-62 in GLVC games as Quincy's coach.

Thursday's game will mark the 12th all-time meeting in the series between the two schools as Quincy holds a slight 7-4 edge in the series, but McKendree has won three of the five games in the series at home. The Bearcats have won two of the last three game in the series as Quincy won last season's game, 75-69 at Quincy.

McKendree's opponent on Saturday, Illinois-Springfield, comes into this week's action as the hottest team in the league as the Prairie Stars, who play at USI on Thursday, have won seven straight games to raise its record to 9-6 overall and 4-3 in the GLVC. UIS' latest win in this stretch came at home on Monday as they earned a 79-71 overtime victory against Maryville. UIS hasn't lost a game since suffering a 63-59 setback at UIndy on Dec. 4. The Prairie Stars are 4-0 in the New Year.

Saturday's game will be a rematch from earlier this season as the Bearcats opened GLVC play this season on Nov. 29 with a 51-47 win over the Prairie Stars in Springfield, Ill. In that game, the Bearcats never trailed as they jumped out to a 22-7 lead just 13 minutes into the game and led 27-19 at the half. UIS would mount a comeback in the second half as they outscored the Bearcats, 28-24, but would fall short in the end. UIS was held to 29 percent shooting from the field and 25 percent shooting from the 3-point line in the contest.

Much like McKendree, UIS is one of the top defensive teams in the league as the Prairie Stars are allowing 65.4 points per game and are holding teams to 31.4 percent shooting from the 3-point line, which is fifth-best in the league and they are fifth in scoring margin at +6.7. UIS' opponents are also shooting 41 percent from the field and are averaging 13.7 turnovers per game.

On offense, the Prairie Stars are averaging 72.1 points per game and have scored 75 or more points in a game in seven games, including four time during its current seven game win streak. UIS is shooting 45 percent from the field and 34 percent from the 3-point line, but struggle at the free throw line as they are shooting just 67 percent on the season.

Sophomore guard Chase Robinson is one of four UIS players averaging in double figures on the year as he is averaging 13.4 points and 5.7 rebounds per game and is shooting 41 percent from the field and 75 percent from the free throw line and leads the team in both assists (30) and steals (30). Sophomore forward James Kelley is the second double-digit scorer as he is averaging 13.1 points and 6.1 rebounds per game and is shooting 52 percent from the field and has blocked 11 shots, while senior guard Chris Hamil, who was this week's GLVC Player of the Week, is averaging 12.0 points per game and is shooting 44 percent from the field and 34 percent from long distance and is tied for the team lead in made treys with 26.

UIS is coached by Matt Brock, who has compiled a 31-32 record in his third season at UIS. Along with winning 31 games at UIS, Brock, who came to UIS from Missouri Baptist, has a 118-112 career coaching record in seven seasons as a collegiate coach.

Saturday's game will mark the 35th all-time meeting between the two schools and the second this season. The Bearcats hold a slim 19-15 edge in the all-time series and have won two straight games in the series. McKendree holds a 10-7 lead in the series at home and also leads 9-7 at UIS.UIS won the only meeting on a neutral court and the teams have split the last 10 games in the series evenly.

Following this weekend's action, McKendree will hit the road for two games in Missouri as they being the road swing on Thursday, Jan. 27 with a 7:30 p.m. game in Liberty, Mo., against William Jewell, before traveling to Kirksville, Mo., for a 3 p.m. game on Saturday, Jan. 29 against 21st-ranked Truman State.