LEBANON, Ill. - The men's basketball team will return to the friendly confines of the Harry M. Statham Sports Center this week for its first two home contests of the year against Blackburn College and Ferris State University in Lebanon, Illinois.
The week will start on Wednesday night against Blackburn with a 7:00 PM CT tip. The Bearcats will face the Beavers for its fourth all-time meeting, where McKendree has swept all games with the first-ever meeting eking out a two-point win and the most recent one being a 41-point blowout last season. The Bearcats will follow up a few days later against Ferris State for their second all-time meeting, as McKendree came away with the three-point win last year against the Bulldogs. That game is set for 5:30 PM CT on Saturday, November 16th.
BEARCATS CURRENTLY
McKendree is coming off an outstanding weekend slate last week at the GLVC/G-MAC Crossover, earning victories against Tiffin University and Malone University. They won by 38 points combined between the two games. The Bearcats and fellow GLVC-foe Lewis University, who hosted the crossover, both went 2-0 over the Dragons and Pioneers.
Redshirt junior forward Noah Franklin (Cobden, Ill.) was the leading scorer in both matchups, putting in 17 on Tiffin by collecting a steal and a block on the defensive end while notching a career-high in points in a game the following game with 26 points on 8-13 shooting, including 3-6 from distance. Senior guard Kevin Stein (Chester, N.Y.) tabbed 16 points in both games while totaling 10 rebounds and eight assists to round out his game. Fellow senior guard Joey Niesman (Oswego, Ill.) broke a single-game record in the NCAA Division II era for McKendree with seven steals in the win over Malone to go with his 30 total points, eight rebounds, seven assists, and two blocks over the course of two games.
As of today, Niesman is fifth in the nation in steals per game at 4.0 while placing in the top 20 in total steals of 20... both rank first in the conference. Franklin sits at 63rd in Division II in points per contest with his 21.5 while also being in the top 70 in getting to and connecting at the free throw line. As a team, McKendree is 10th in the nation (second in the GLVC) in scoring defense thus far into the season, allowing only 57.5 points by the opposition. They are also in the top-20 in scoring margin of 19.0 points.
SCOUTING THE OPPOSITION
Blackburn College | Wednesday, November 13th, 7:00 PM CT
Last Matchup: W, 99-58 on 11/18/2023 | RECAP | BOX SCORE
Blackburn has yet to play an official college basketball game this season, as they were picked to finish 6th in the St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SLIAC) Preseason Poll. They went 9-17 last season while going 8-10 in conference play to earn their way into the SLIAC postseason tournament. The Beavers lost in the first round to Webster University 59-50 to end their season.
At the helm is Austin Kirby in his fifth season, being a Blackburn-lifer as an assistant coach and student prior to being head coach. He brings in a perimeter defense that was first in the conference in three-point percentage defense last year. Kirby is bringing back eight upperclassmen, including two seniors, to make up a balanced roster.
Ferris State University | Saturday, November 16th, 5:30 PM CT
Last Matchup: W, 71-68 on 11/22/2023 | RECAP | BOX SCORE
Ferris State is coming into the season with high expectations, as they were selected 25th in the preseason NABC Coaches polls. They went 28-8 last year and 12-6 in Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) action. The Bulldogs won their conference tournament championship all by 10 points or less, and would advance all the way to the NCAA Division II Elite Eight where they would lose to Minnesota State University.
The Bulldogs lost game number one of their season at the D2CCA Tip Off Classic to West Texas A&M University but bounced back the next game against UNC-Pembroke convincingly. Recently they went 2-0 in the GLIAC/G-MAC Crossover on their home court this past weekend against Northwood University and Lake Erie College by a combined 49 points.
Andy Bronkema is in his 11th season as head coach of the Bulldogs, where he finished last season leading the conference in several statistical categories including field goal percentage (49.4), rebound margin (+5.6), scoring offense (84.9), and turnover margin (+1.9). Nationally, his team ranked second in assist/turnover ratio (+1.79) and placed in the top three in assists-per-game (19.9) and bench points per game (40.14).
TUNE IN-FO
vs Blackburn College
WATCH: Click HERE ($ – GLVC Sports Network)
LIVE STATS: Click HERE
HISTORY: Click HERE
TEAM ROSTERS: [McKendree] [Blackburn]
TEAM SCHEDULES: [McKendree] [Blackburn]
TEAM STATISTICS: [McKendree] [Blackburn]
vs Ferris State University
WATCH: Click HERE ($ – GLVC Sports Network)
LIVE STATS: Click HERE
HISTORY: Click HERE
TEAM ROSTERS: [McKendree] [Ferris State]
TEAM SCHEDULES: [McKendree] [Ferris State]
TEAM STATISTICS: [McKendree] [Ferris State]
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