LEBANON, Ill. - The men's basketball is back on the road in continuation of Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) play as they will take on Drury University on Thursday, January 16th, followed by Southwest Baptist University on Saturday, January 18th.
Against Drury, it will be the 14th all-time meeting between the two programs, as McKendree won the previous two outings by a combined 35 points, but they fell in the prior four matchups. The Panthers hold a 9-4 lead in the series and are 5-2 when the game is played on their home floor. The largest Bearcat win came last season in Springfield, Missouri, as McKendree had blown out Drury, 76-56.
In a couple of days after facing the Panthers, McKendree will take on SBU in only their eighth matchup. Like in the series against Drury, the Bearcats have won the past two games, this time by an amount of 26 combined. The Bearcats from Missouri snagged the prior three outings including a double-overtime thriller at the Harry M. Statham Sports Center in 2022. Both of the last two matchups were the closest and the largest margin of victory the Bearcats of Illinois has had in the series as they do have the historical 2-1 edge in Bolivar, Missouri.
BEARCATS CURRENTLY
McKendree split 1-1 last week in what was a convincing win against William Jewell College on Thursday and could not complete the come-from-behind rally in the second half against Truman State University on Saturday. They now sit at 7-7 overall and 4-3 in GLVC action.
In Thursday's game against WJC, junior forward Noah Franklin (Cobden, Ill.) was a force inside for the first half as a 10-0 run midway through and a flushed-in dunk at the buzzer by Franklin gave McKendree a 35-31 lead going into halftime. Franklin and junior guard Cha'Vez Woods (Louisville, Ky.) started the second period of play out strong to put them up by nine with under 11 minutes remaining in regulation. Then, senior guard Kevin Stein (Chester, N.Y.) went on a personal 10-3 run for the Bearcats to contribute in what would be a 50-point second half as they would win convincingly over the Cardinals, 85-63. McKendree finished with four double-figure scorers, and to little surprise, Franklin ended with the most with 19 points on 8-16 shooing while collecting five boards and a pair of blocks. Stein ended with a close 17 points on 7-13 from the field and 3-4 from deep while corralling a career-high 10 rebounds. Senior guard Joey Niesman (Oswego, Ill.) dropped in a quiet baker's dozen 13 points with 5-9 from the floor and 3-6 from distance plus five assists and three steals. Woods rounded out the double-digit scoring with 10 points and shot 3-7 from three while snagging a trio of boards.
In the following game against Truman State, the Bulldogs would take control of the game early, leading against McKendree by 14 in the midst of the first half. Woods continued to shoot it with confidence by knocking down a pair to cut the Bearcat deficit to 42-30 at the end of half number one. Down but not out, McKendree reeled a 15-3 run to start the second half to tie the game up at 45 a-piece as moments later, Niesman dropped in a turnaround mid-range jumper to put the team up by two. However, Truman State went on a capitalizing 13-7 run in the final minutes to beat the Bearcats 77-73. McKendree had two 20-point scores, with Stein leading with 22 points on 9-13 shooting and 4-7 from distance. Franklin followed closely behind with 20 points, shooting 7-13 from the floor and 6-8 from the line while collecting 10 rebounds and a pair of blocked shots. Woods was the only other Bearcat in double figures with 15 points – two points shy of his career-high as he went 6-12 from the field and 3-6 from three-point range.
The Bearcats have three players averaging double-figures, with Stein leading with 15.3 a game, which is good for 12th in the conference as he is also placed in the top five in his playmaking with total assists (4th – 60), assists per game (4th – 4.3), and assist-to-turnover ratio (5th – 2.31). Niesman follows with 13.4 points a night while also being one of the best on-ball defenders in total steals (3rd – 26) and steals per game (3rd – 1.86). Franklin has been a brute force as of late as he is now averaging 11.6 points a game as his 0.9 blocks per game and 13 total blocks are 11th and 10th in the GLVC respectively.
The recent losses have trickled the team's statistics a bit, but they remain a very effective shooting team, knocking down a conference-best 38.3% from three-point range and having a 55.3% effective field goal percentage. Their 10.4 turnovers forced per game places third in the GLVC and 18th in the nation as of today.
SCOUTING THE OPPOSITION
Drury University | Thursday, January 16th, 7:45 PM CT
Last Matchup: W, 76-56 on 12/17/2024 | RECAP | BOX SCORE
Drury has not been doing well as of late, losing five straight and seven of their last eight games played, including a couple of nail-biters in a one-point loss at home to Truman State and a two-point loss on the road at Lincoln University (Mo.). The Panthers sit at 6-8 overall and only 1-6 in conference play.
The Panther's leading scorer is none other than sophomore guard Zach Howell, who averages a 13th-best in the GLVC at 15.1 points a night while also being one of the top three-point shooters in the conference in three-pointers made per game (3rd – 3.1), total three-pointers (3rd – 43), and three-point percentage (3rd – 40.6%). Howell's fellow teammate, junior guard Logan Applegate is your high-end three-and-D player as her leads the conference in total steals (30; 2nd at 2.1 per game) and is top 10 in the GLVC in total three-pointers made (9th – 33) and three-pointers per game (10th – 2.4) while averaging 12.4 points per game. Sophomore forward Juok Riak puts in 13.1 points a contest.
Like McKendree, Drury is a defensive-minded team as they turn their opponents over 15.8 times per game, which is good for first in the conference, and their 10.4 steals per game are also first in the GLVC as well as 23rd in the nation. Offensively, they love to shoot from the perimeter, nailing 9.9 three-pointers a game, being a top 25 mark in the country while doing it at a 37.6% clip.
Southwest Baptist University | Saturday, January 18th, 3:00 PM CT
Last Matchup: W, 71-65 on 2/15/2024 | RECAP | BOX SCORE
After finding for what it seemed to be a nice groove to their season in mid-December, SBU has faltered in their last four outings after five of their previous six games. Regardless, the Bearcats from Missouri are currently sitting at 6-7 overall and are 3-4 in conference play. They do play the University of Illinois Springfield on Thursday before taking on McKendree on Saturday.
The Bearcats bring in a double punch from two of their guards in junior Drenin Dinkins and graduate Mitch Ganote, who each score 17.8 and 14.8 points a game, respectively, and are both in the top 15 in the GLVC in scoring. Ganote is a lockdown defender, stealing the ball 2.25 times a game – good for first in the GLVC while also being a top-tier distributor with 3.9 assists per game on a 1.57 assist-to-turnover ratio. Dinkins on the other hand gets himself the line on the regular as he is second in the conference in free throw percentage (92.2%) while being top 10 in makes (59) and attempts (64).
If there was something that SBU would be known for in their play style, it would be their fundamental defense, allowing 70.0 points a game by the opposition and being able to guard the ball without fouling (14.9 fouls per game – 2nd in GLVC). Also of note, they have a very effective reserve unit, as they are placed third in the conference in bench points of 22.6 per game.
TUNE IN-FO
at Drury University
WATCH: Click HERE ($ – GLVC Sports Network)
LIVE STATS: Click HERE
HISTORY: Click HERE
TEAM ROSTERS: [McKendree] [Drury]
TEAM SCHEDULES: [McKendree] [Drury]
TEAM STATISTICS: [McKendree] [Drury]
at Southwest Baptist University
WATCH: Click HERE ($ – GLVC Sports Network)
LIVE STATS: Click HERE
HISTORY: Click HERE
TEAM ROSTERS: [McKendree] [Southwest Baptist]
TEAM SCHEDULES: [McKendree] [Southwest Baptist]
TEAM STATISTICS: [McKendree] [Southwest Baptist]
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