LEBANON, Ill. - McKendree University men's basketball is set to close out its regular season on the road at Maryville on Thursday at 7:30 p.m. and the University of Missouri-St. Louis at 3 p.m. The Bearcats are 13-12 overall while holding a 9-9 conference record heading into the week before the Great Lakes Valley Conference tournament.
Statistically, McKendree is second in the league in field goal percentage (48.1 percent), third in three-point percentage (36.7 percent) and three-pointers made (230), second in blocked shots (3.72 per game), and tops the GLVC in defensive rebounds (27.4 per game).
Four Bearcats average double-digit scoring including senior guard Bryson Bultman (16.5 ppg), junior forward Milos Vicentic (15.4 ppg), senior guard Eric Powell II (12.6 ppg), and sophomore forward Caleb Zurliene (10.2 ppg).
Bultman ranks second in scoring average and assists (5.28 per game), sixth in rebounding (7.1 rpg), while Vicentic is seventh in scoring. Zurliene continues to lead the league in blocked shots (2.12 per game) and is fifth in field goal percentage (55.6 percent). Powell has topped the three-point efforts for McKendree this season and ranks fourth in three-pointers made (69) and seventh in three-point percentage (42.1 percent).
ABOUT MARYVILLE
Maryville is 16-11 overall and 9-10 in the GLVC to sit just below McKendree in conference standings. In the last meeting between the Saints and the Bearcats, McKendree topped Maryville 82-74 at the Harry M. Statham Sports Center.
In GLVC statistics, the Saints are third in three-point percentage (37.5 percent), fourth in three-pointers made (247), while ranking sixth in defense, holding opponents to 70.8 points per game.
Maryville's offensive efforts are led by three Saints in double figures including sophomore guard Ben Palacios (14.3 ppg), junior guard Dewayne Vass (11.5 ppg), and redshirt junior guard Ari Jackson (10.9 ppg).
Vass is eighth in the GLVC in field goal percentage (54.1 percent) in addition to third in assists (5.19 per game). Senior guard Kelvin Swims sits just below Vass in assists (3.95 per game) while junior guard Harrison Vickers leads the Saints beyond the arc at 45.3 percent (3rd in GLVC).
ABOUT UMSL
UMSL is currently fourth in the GLVC with a 18-8 overall record and a 10-8 mark in the league. The two teams last met on Jan. 12 as the Tritons came away with a 83-73 win over the Bearcats at McKendree.
The Tritons top the league in field goal percentage (48.7 percent) and three-point percentage (39.8 percent) while ranking fifth in scoring (75.8 ppg) and fourth in free throw percentage (76.2 percent).
Leading the offensive efforts for UMSL is redshirt junior guard Isaiah Fuller (15.2 ppg), graduate student guard Victor Nwagbaraocha (10.7 ppg), and graduate student guard Bowen Sandquist (10.7 ppg).
Fuller is ninth in scoring average for the GLVC while Sandquist is second in three-point percentage (46.6 percent) and first in three-pointers made (81). Junior forward Drew Cisse ranks just behind Zurliene in blocked shots (1.2 per game) in addition to third in offensive rebounds (2.35 per game).
UP NEXT
This week's final GLVC regular season games will determine the seeding for the conference tournament to be held at Lindenwood University on March 2-5. The top eight teams will participate in the tournament.
