LEBANON, Ill. - The men's basketball team is back in action this week as they resume their hot start to conference play with a pair of road contests against the University of Indianapolis on Friday, January 3rd, followed by Lewis University on Sunday, January 5th.
Against UIndy, it will be the 20th all-time meeting between the two programs as the Greyhounds controlled the last three outings with the most recent coming in the GLVC Championship Quarterfinals, winning 77-68. The five seasons prior were back and forth after UIndy won the first eight of the series, giving them a 4-15 lead.
In a couple of days after facing the Greyhounds, McKendree will take on Lewis in their 21st matchup. Much like UIndy, the opposition seems to have the historic edge as the Flyers currently lead 17-3 all-time and have won the last two meetings after the Bearcats earned their last victory in 2022. A large part of Lewis' success came from their 10-game winning streak in the series from 2013-2019.
BEARCATS CURRENTLY
After winning three straight –– the best start to GLVC play in program history –– was halted with a non-conference road loss to Thomas More University on Thursday, December 19th. Currently sitting at a 6-4 record overall, McKendree's 3-0 record in the GLVC, along with Missouri S&T, are the only two teams undefeated in conference play.
Against the Saints, the Bearcats hung on tight for the first eight minutes into the game until Thomas More incremented their lead leading into halftime. Yet, after driving in a couple of layups by McKendree to cut a nine-point deficit to five, the Saints whipped up a monumental 18-2 run and picked up a 90-65 win on their home floor.
The Romeoville, Illinois native Destin Whitaker remains to be one of the most efficient long-range shooters across the whole country. He is knocking down 2.6 three-pointers a contest with a 54.8% success rate, which is good for 5th in the nation. In terms of volume shooting, senior guard Joey Niesman (Oswego, Ill.) is ranked as the best in the whole GLVC for overall field goal percentage, converting 61.9% of his shots as he leads the team in scoring a team-high 15.0 points a game. That is good for 25th in all of Division II.
In spite of being second on the team in scoring (13.8 ppg), senior guard Kevin Stein (Chester, N.Y.) is one of the conference's best facilitators night in and night out. He dishes out 4.6 assists a contest (4th) with a highly efficient assist-to-turnover ratio of 2.71 (3rd). Both place in the top 60 nationally.
McKendree's shooting from some of their top contributors translates to the team's overall efforts, as they shoot 47.7% from the field as a collective unit. The Bearcats also convert a high 56.6 effective field goal percentage and knocks down 77.4% of their shots from the free throw line. Both are good for 27th in the country.
SCOUTING THE OPPOSITION
University of Indianapolis | Friday, January 3rd, 6:30 PM CT
Last Matchup: L, 68-77 on 3/7/2024 | RECAP | BOX SCORE
UIndy has had an interesting season thus far in the earlier stages as they currently sit at 6-5 overall but are 0-3 in conference action after going 17-3 in the GLVC and earning an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament last year. After faltering in their three GLVC contests, the Greyhounds picked up three straight narrow victories by a combined eight points, including a 73-69 road win at Thomas More University, a double-overtime 88-86 win over the Learfield Director's Cup fall champion Grand Valley State University, and an 81-79 win over then-19th ranked Hillsdale College in their most recent outing.
The Greyhounds have three double-digit scorers on their squad with two of them averaging over 15 points a game. Senior guard Brody Whitaker leads with 16.7 while shooting 42.7% from the floor in 34 minutes of action. Junior guard Dashawn Jackson is not too far behind by averaging 15.8 points a game while pulling down 4.7 rebounds. Senior forward Dylan Ingram rounds out the double-figure scoring with 10.3 as he and Whitaker are the only players to have started all games for UIndy.
One of UIndy's best strengths is their ability to not foul, especially on the interior. They are second in the entire conference in fouls committed per game with 10.0 as well as being third-best in blocks per game at 4.0. Seven of the thirteen players on the roster are upperclassmen with the other six listed as freshmen.
Lewis University | Sunday, January 5th, 3:00 PM CT
Last Matchup: L, 81-87 on 2/29/2024 | RECAP | BOX SCORE
Lewis has had a little roller-coaster to start their season, which currently sits at 7-3 and 2-1 in conference play. They began the season 2-0 as part of them hosting the annual GLVC/G-MAC Challenge to be alongside McKendree as the only two undefeated squads in that mini competition. The Flyers went 3-2 after the challenge and since have won three straight. They will face Maryville University on Friday, January 3rd before they host the Bearcats on Sunday, January 5th.
The Flyers consist of five different double-figure scorers, with the highest being junior guard Paxton Warden, who averages 15.8 points per game. The second leading scorer, senior forward Rob Stroud averages 13.3 points while corralling a team-leading 7.0 rebounds a contest. Strouds 5.7 defensive rebounds re second in the GLVC.
As a collective group, Lewis is in the bottom half of the conference in several statistical categories, yet they are the best team at the charity stripe as they rank first in the GLVC in free throw attempts per game (22.6), free throws made per game (18.3), and free throw percentage (81.0%). Like the Bearcats, the Flyers shoot it well from the field, as they are third in the conference in field goal percentage at 49.2%.
TUNE IN-FO
at University of Indianapolis
WATCH: Click HERE ($ – GLVC Sports Network)
LIVE STATS: Click HERE
HISTORY: Click HERE
TEAM ROSTERS: [McKendree] [UIndy]
TEAM SCHEDULES: [McKendree] [UIndy]
TEAM STATISTICS: [McKendree] [UIndy]
at Lewis University
WATCH: Click HERE ($ – GLVC Sports Network)
LIVE STATS: Click HERE
HISTORY: Click HERE
TEAM ROSTERS: [McKendree] [Lewis]
TEAM SCHEDULES: [McKendree] [Lewis]
TEAM STATISTICS: [McKendree] [Lewis]
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