LEBANON, Ill. – The McKendree University Bearcats are getting set to host the University of Missouri – St. Louis Tritons on Saturday, February 24th with tip scheduled for 3:00 p.m. This will be the second match up between the two GLVC schools in a month.
Game Happenings
The Bearcats will be welcoming back basketball alumni. The alumni will be recognized during the contest, along with a reception in the hall of fame room.
Series History
Back on January 13th, the Bearcats defeated the Tritons over in St. Louis by the score of 83-78. They were led by Caleb Zurliene and Milos Vicentic who scored 28 points apiece. Overall in the series, the Tritons lead 12 games to 7, but McKendree holds the advantage in home contests at four to three.
Scouting the Bearcats
Winners of their last five, McKendree enters the weekend with an overall record of 15-9 (9-8 GLVC). Last weekend, they picked up wins over Southwest Baptist University (71-65) and Drury University (76-56). In the second half against Drury, Kevin Stein and Zurliene had a national spotlight moment. While out in transition, Stein threw a lob to Zurliene who finished the alley-oop over a Drury defender. This play was picked up by SportsCenter and made their nightly Top 10 plays.
Sitting 7th in the GLVC and 2nd in the country, Vicentic sits at 22.6 points per game to lead the Bearcat offensive attack. Supporting Vicentic, is Caleb Zurliene at 14.1 ppg and Carson Parker with 11.5 ppg. Not only is Zurliene the second leading scorer for McKendree, he is also a force on the defensive end of the floor leading the conference in blocks per game at 2.96.
As a team, the Bearcats are leading the GLVC in shooting at 51.5 percent from the field. They are also third in the GLVC in field goal percentage defense only allowing their opponents to shoot 42.8%.
Scouting the Tritons
The Tritons enter the weekend with an overall record of 11-14 (9-8 GLVC) and split their games last weekend against Drury University (L, 81-76 OT) and Southwest Baptist (W, 70-55).
UMSL has four guys averaging double figures so far this season. The contingent is led by Matt Enright who is at 13.4 points per game. He is followed by Mayson Quartlebaum at 12 ppg, Emanual Prospere II (10.5 ppg) and Troy Glover II (10.0 ppg). Glover is also leading the conference with 7.7 rebounds per game.
