LEBANON, Ill. - The men's basketball will find themselves back into the friendly confines of the Harry M. Statham Sports Center this week as they will host Lincoln University (Mo.) on Thursday, January 23rd and later against Missouri S&T on Saturday, January 25th.
McKendree is 6-35 all-time against ranked opponents on record in their NCAA Division II era, including dropping all three contests of such this season in the early stages against Ferris State University, The University of Alabama in Huntsville, and Lake Superior State University. Their last ranked win came against Ferris State on November 22nd of last season.
Against Lincoln, it will be the 9th all-time meeting between the two programs as this will be the first year of Lincoln being a member of the GLVC. The Bearcats won the last meeting, 55-51 after the Blue Tigers grabbed themselves a pair of wins in the prior two outings. McKendree holds a 3-1 advantage on their home floor.
In a couple of days after facing the Blue Tigers, McKendree will take on Missouri S&T in their 15th matchup. The Miners hold a current 9-5 edge in the series and have picked up the wins in four of the last five meetings. McKendree's last win came on January 6th of 2024 in Rolla, where they won 71-63.
BEARCATS CURRENTLY
McKendree comes in after a split week where they fell to Drury University on Thursday but followed up with a 63-46 win over Southwest Baptist University on Saturday. That win has them at 8-8 on the season while posting a 5-4 record in conference action.
In their game against Drury, the Panthers would control much of the first half, including an 11-5 run until junior guard Cha'Vez Woods (Louisville, Ky.) and senior guard Joey Niesman (Oswego, Ill.) both combined for thee shots from beyond the arc and would tie the game at 26 a-piece midway through the first half. A 12-0 run by Drury would eventually end the half in their favor, up 45-35. McKendree gave their all to battle the Panthers all through the second half of play, especially from Woods, who personally went on a mini 5-0 run himself who cut the deficit to just two points. However, Drury would go on a 24-12 run in the final 8:18 of play and seal the win over the Bearcats, 84-70. Woods dropped in his McKendree career-high in points with 24 while shooting 7-12 from the field, 4-6 from deep, and a perfect 6-6 from the line. He also had three rebounds, a block, and a steal. Niesman followed behind with 18 points on 6-12 shooting and 4-9 from three while getting four assists and rebounds each plus two steals and a blocked shot. Sophomore guard Luka Mateski (Belgrade, Serbia) rounded out the double-digit scoring for the Bearcats with 11 points in going 7-8 from the line.
A couple of days later against Southwest Baptist, McKendree would show their hard-earned grit on the court. They led narrowly, 17-15 after the first several minutes of action, but Mateski would continue to be a boost to the McKendree offense, scoring 10 of their last 15 points of the first half as his squad would find themselves up 34-29 heading into the extended break. The visiting Bearcats from Illinois, caught fire coming into the second half, where they began with a 15-4 run behind a pair of threes from Woods plus a few lay-ins from senior guard Kevin Stein (Chester, N.Y.) to be up by eight with several minutes remaining. After a four-minute dry spell with no scoring on either side, Stein would knock down a three-pointer and was followed soon after by a four-point play from Niesman to run away with a 63-46 road win over SBU. Stein led all scorers in McKendree's win with 18 points on 6-12 shooting as he went 2-3 from three and 4-4 from the line while getting five rebounds, two assists, and a steal. Woods continues his highly-trending offensive impact with now scoring in double-figure in five straight games as he came away with 16 tonight while going 6-11 from the field and 4-6 from deep. Mateski also continued his well-rounded weekend by capping off with a career-high 14 points on 5-6 shooting from the floor and grabbing a monstrous career-high 13 rebounds (seven offensive) along with an assist and a steal.
McKendree has three players averaging double-figures in Stein (14.5), Niesman (13.2), and junior forward Noah Franklin (Cobden, Ill.) (10.7). Stein is a top-five playmaker in the entire GLVC with his 4.1 assists per game (65 total) on a 2.24 assist-to-turnover ratio while also placing 13th in field goal percentage at 45.6%. Niesman gets at it on the defensive end to supplement his offense as he steals the ball 1.9 times a contest. Franklin's 0.9 blocks per game (14 total) are both top-12 in the GLVC.
The Bearcats are ranked in the top-four in several statistical categories including three-point percentage (3rd – 37.6%), free throw percentage (4th – 75.6), three-point percentage defense (4th – 32.2), and turnovers per game (4th – 10.8).
SCOUTING THE OPPOSITION
Lincoln University (Mo.) | Thursday, January 23rd, 7:30 PM CT
Last Matchup: W, 55-51 on 12/14/2019 | RECAP | BOX SCORE
Lincoln had a solid start to their season until things took a tumble recently. They dropped their last two outings to Truman State University and to the University of Missouri-St. Louis on Monday and Thursday, respectively. Before that, they won six straight and seven of their last eight as they currently sit at 12-5 overall and 4-5 in GLVC-play.
Senior forward Frank Yetna is the leading scorer for the Blue Tigers, averaging 16.2 points per game, which marks eighth in the conference. Yetna is also a tenacious rebounder, grabbing 7.4 per contest, which ranks fifth in the GLVC. Their second leading scorer, junior guard Tyler Chapman (11.4 ppg), is eighth in the conference with 3.6 assists per game and posts a 2.04 assist-to-turnover ratio.
While their notable player offense might take the spotlight, their defense is no joke as they allow only 60.6 points a contest, which is good for first in the GLVC and fourth in the entire nation. Their field goal percentage defense also aligns to their structure on the same end as their 37.7% allowance on field goals is third in the country.
Missouri S&T | Saturday, January 25th, 3:00 PM CT
Last Matchup: L, 73-75 on 1/27/2024 | RECAP | BOX SCORE
The number nine team in the country in Missouri S&T will trek their way to Lebanon with an outstanding 14-1 record overall and 8-0 in the conference play. Their only loss was to St. Mary's University (Texas) during the Division II Holiday Hoops Classic. Since then, they reeled off seven straight wins and will look for their eighth when they face the University of Illinois Springfield on Thursday prior to taking on McKendree.
The Miners hold one of the league's most dominant players in junior forward Andrew Young, who already has six double-doubles to his name thus far into the season. Along with scoring a team-high 16.3 points a game, he is first in the GLVC in field goal percentage at 60.1% and is fourth in rebounds per game at 8.1. His teammate, junior guard Alex Benassi, leads the conference in assist-to-turnover ratio of 4.23 while posting a second-best 5.1 assists a night.
The personell dominance translates well for Missouri S&T as a squad, as the team places first in the conference in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.48), assists per game (16.9), bench points per game (30.5), effective field goal percentage (57.9%), fastbreak points (13.9), field goal percentage (51.8), fouls per game (12.5), rebound margin (+7.5), defensive rebounds per game (29.4), scoring margin (+18.5), and scoring offense (87.6 ppg). Their scoring margin and field goal percentage places sixth in the nation while their fouls per game is third in the country.
TUNE IN-FO
vs Lincoln University (Mo.)
WATCH: Click HERE ($ – GLVC Sports Network)
LIVE STATS: Click HERE
HISTORY: Click HERE
TEAM ROSTERS: [McKendree] [Lincoln]
TEAM SCHEDULES: [McKendree] [Lincoln]
TEAM STATISTICS: [McKendree] [Lincoln]
vs Missouri S&T
WATCH: Click HERE ($ – GLVC Sports Network)
LIVE STATS: Click HERE
HISTORY: Click HERE
TEAM ROSTERS: [McKendree] [Missouri S&T]
TEAM SCHEDULES: [McKendree] [Missouri S&T]
TEAM STATISTICS: [McKendree] [Missouri S&T]
For more updates and information on Bearcat Athletics, please continue to visit McKBearcats.com and follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
#BearcatsUnleashed
