LEBANON, Ill. - The men's basketball team will hit the road this week for a couple of conference opponents where they will play Maryville University on Thursday, January 30th, and the University of Missouri-St. Louis on Saturday, February 30th.
Against Maryville, it will be the 20th all-time meeting between the two programs, as McKendree came out victorious in four of their last five outings, including a 74-66 win in Lebanon, Illinois in their most recent game. The Saints have currently the 11-8 edge in the series, but have not won on their home floor since 2021, where they won 60-55.
In a couple of days after facing the Saints, McKendree will take on UMSL in their 21st matchup. Both teams split 2-2 in their last four meetings. The Bearcats have been undefeated at the Mark Twain Building since 2022. The Tritons hold a 13-7 lead in the series over McKendree and post an 8-2 record against them at home.
BEARCATS CURRENTLY
McKendree comes in after losing their recent two games last week and having dropped four of their last five outings. They currently sit at 8-10 overall and 5-6 in the GLVC.
In their Thursday's game against Lincoln University (Mo.), the Blue Tigers got out hot and ready in the early moments and led by 19 at the half. Albeit down by a substantial margin, senior guard Kevin Stein (Chester, N.Y.) took over the second half for the Bearcats, where he knocked in 31 of his 32 total points by driving several times for and-one opportunities while also nailing a small handful of three-pointers. However, the comeback efforts would fall short as McKendree would fall 68-73. Stein was the only McKendree player in double figures with his career-high of 32 points on 11-23 shooting while going 3-9 from distance and 7-10 from the line. He also had three rebounds, two steals, an assist, and a block. Sophomore guard Luka Mateski (Belgrade, Serbia) and junior guard Noah Franklin (Cobden, Ill.) came just short of the double-digit plateau as the former had six rebounds and a steal, while the latter had five rebounds to go with his points.
The Bearcats then took on the number nine team in the country (now number five) in Missouri S&T on Saturday. Mateski would continue to shoot lights out as they trailed by only eight points after the first half. McKendree stayed on the Miner's tail by inching their way closer with back-to-back lay-ins by Franklin to find themselves down by only one point. Yet, Missouri S&T would go on a 16-3 run soon after to cap off the 84-69 win over the Bearcats at the Harry M. Statham Sports Center. Stein led his team in scoring for a third consecutive game with 24 points in this afternoon's game as he was 8-16 from the floor, 3-5 from deep, and 5-6 from the line. He also tallied four assists and a trio of steals. Mateski finished with 14 points, as he went 5-9 from the floor and 2-4 from three. He also grabbed six rebounds plus an assist and a block. Senior guard Joey Niesman (Oswego, Ill.) and junior guard Cha'Vez Woods (Louisville, Ky.) rounded out with 11 points each, as the former tied his career-high with nine rebounds.
McKendree has three players averaging double-figures, with Stein leading with 16.0 points a game, followed by Niesman with 12.5 and Franklin with 10.2. Stein's scoring ranks ninth in the GLVC as his field goal percentage of 46.1% places 12th. His Playmaking output is fifth in the conference with assists per game (3.9), total assists (70), and assist-to-turnover ratio (2.06). Niesman's steals performance is third in the GLVC with 1.8 steals per game and 32 total steals.
The team overall is ranked in the top-five within the conference in several statistical categories, including free throw percentage (4th – 75.6%), three-point makes per game (4th – 9.3), free throw makes per game (5th – 13.6), three-point percentage (5th – 36.8), three-point percentage defense (5th – 33.2), and turnovers per game (5th – 11.1).
SCOUTING THE OPPOSITION
Maryville University | Thursday, January 30th, 7:30 PM CT
Last Matchup: W, 74-66 on 11/30/2024 | RECAP | BOX SCORE
Maryville currently sits at 7-12 overall and 3-8 into conference play. They lost their last three games by an average of 13 points. The Saints won the two games prior to their losing streak. McKendree beat Maryville earlier this season, 74-66 in Lebanon, Illinois.
The Saints have three players averaging over 12 points a contest. Senior guard Luke Williams leads with 13.8 points per game while junior forward Lucas Burton and senior guard Dewayen Vass tally in 12.6 and 12.3 respectively. Burton is second in the GLVC in field goal percentage at 57.6% as Williams has a 10th-best 47.7%. Vass is one of the conferences' top defenders, stealing the ball 1.6 times a game (5th) and totaling 29 steals (6th).
The Maryville team is strong in their shooting and ability to defend the opposing shot selection, as they are top-five in the GLVC in fastbreak points (3rd – 12.1), fouls per game (3rd – 15.5), three-point percentage defense (3rd – 32.4%), effective field goal percentage (4th – 54.9%), and field goal percentage (4th – 48.4%).
University of Missouri-St. Louis | Saturday, February 1st, 3:00 PM CT
Last Matchup: L, 69-81 on 2/24/2024 | RECAP | BOX SCORE
UMSL has had an up-and-down season thus far as they sit at 9-9 overall and 7-4 in GLVC action. They won their last outing, 91-66 against neighboring Maryville after losing their last two games by three and four points. The Tritons will face the University of Illinois Springfield on Thursday prior to taking on McKendree.
The Tritons obtain three double-digit scorers with the St. Louis native junior guard Matt Enright leading with 14.8 points a contest. He is one of the conference's best shooters from the perimeter as knocks down a GLVC-best 42.5% three-point percentage (25th in the nation) while making 2.7 threes per game, which places him fifth in the conference. Junior forward Troy Glover is the best shot-blocker in the conference with 2.1 swats a contest, totaling 38 thus far as he also is 12 in total rebounds per game at 6.2.
The UMSL program is in the top-five of the GLVC in many statistical categories, including scoring defense (2nd – 68.7 ppg), three-point percentage (2nd – 37.4%), field goal percentage defense (3rd – 42.8%), blocks per game (4th – 4.1), and field goal percentage (5th – 46.9%).
TUNE IN-FO
at Maryville University
WATCH: Click HERE ($ – GLVC Sports Network)
LIVE STATS: Click HERE
HISTORY: Click HERE
TEAM ROSTERS: [McKendree] [Maryville]
TEAM SCHEDULES: [McKendree] [Maryville]
TEAM STATISTICS: [McKendree] [Maryville]
at University of Missouri-St. Louis
WATCH: Click HERE ($ – GLVC Sports Network)
LIVE STATS: Click HERE
HISTORY: Click HERE
TEAM ROSTERS: [McKendree] [UMSL]
TEAM SCHEDULES: [McKendree] [UMSL]
TEAM STATISTICS: [McKendree] [UMSL]
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