LEBANON, Ill. – The (RV) men's basketball team looks to return from the holiday break and a 32-day shift away from the home floors of the Harry M. Statham Sports Center, where they will pick right back up with GLVC action against Lewis University on Friday, January 2nd at 7:30 PM CT and then on Sunday, January 4th at 3:00 PM CT versus the University of Indianapolis. 

Fans can watch both games live or on-demand on Bearcat's GLVC Sports Network with a subscription/download purchase required. Live stats will also be made available, and radio will be free to listen to against UIndy on WICR 88.7 FM HD3. 

Tickets can be purchased on McKendree's ticket office website. 

[Lewis] [Indianapolis] 

SCOUTING THE LAST OUTINGS 

The team picked up two big regional wins on the road up North in Michigan to move to 9-2 overall on the season and received votes in the national NABC Coaches Poll for a second time this season and it's history, while going 2-1 in the early stages of GLVC play.  

At Ferris State, both teams traded early baskets before the Bearcats surged behind strong guard play and freshman guard Moses Wilson's (Aurora, Ill.) energy in the paint. Wilson scored 12 first-half points as McKendree built a 45-32 halftime lead, which grew to 16 early in the second half. Ferris State answered with a late 14-2 run to pull within three. In the final seconds, Sophomore guard Rini Harris (O'Fallon, Ill.) found fifth-year forward Noah Franklin (Cobden, Ill.) for a clutch dunk and foul, and McKendree sealed the game with a final defensive stop, earning a 75-70 road win for its eighth victory of the season. Freshman guard Andrew Moore (Montgomery County, Mo.) garnered his second double-double with 17 points and a career-high 11 rebounds (five offensive) on 6-for-11 (54.5%) from the floor and 2-for-4 (50.0%) from three. Wilson led the team in scoring with a career-high 18 points to go with seven boards and a pair of steals while shooting a very efficient 7-for-10 (70.0%) from the field and a perfect 4-for-4 from the line (100%). Senior guard Cha'Vez Woods (Louisville, Ky.) rounded up the double-figure scoring with 15 points on a 7-for-9 (77.7%) mark despite not hitting a three for the first time all season as the senior also collected a trio of rebounds, a pair of steals, and one caring assist. 

McKendree opened its final non-conference game against Hillsdale in game two of the trip with strong defense, holding the Chargers scoreless early and building a quick lead. After several momentum swings, the Bearcats edged ahead 35-34 at halftime. In the second half, McKendree pushed the pace, sparked by Noah Franklin and Rini Harris, who fueled a 12-3 run and extended the lead to 14. Hillsdale briefly cut into the margin with three-point shooting, but Harris took over late, scoring 11 of McKendree's final 18 points. The Bearcats closed their road trip undefeated with a 79-66 win. Harris finished the game with a career-high 31 points on an efficient 12-for-15 (80.0%) scoring from the field and a perfect 2-for-2 (100%) from deep. He also collected seven rebounds, three steals, and one assist. Franklin supplemented with his third double-double of the season and seventh of his career with 15 points and 10 rebounds, along with a team season-high and career-high five blocked shots. Woods reached his seventh consecutive double-figure scoring game and ninth total of the season with 11 points, plus a pair of boards, a trio of assists, and a takeaway. Wilson scored all nine of McKendree's points off the bench, as he rounded out with four rebounds. 

HISTORY SHOWCASE 

Against Lewis, this will be the 23rd meeting as a member of NCAA Division II as the recent part of the in-state history has favored the Flyers, who have won eight of the previous nine meetings, with six of them coming within single digits. The lone win in that stretch came on January 19th, 2023 in Lebanon, where the Bearcats won 57-55, making it their only home win in the series as Lewis currently holds the 19-3 lead. 

Against UIndy, it will be the 22nd meeting between the two programs as the Greyhounds hold the 17-4 edge in the series' history. McKendree has fallen in each of the last five outings as they came victorious in two of the last three prior to that. The Bearcats are 3-for-6 on their home hardwoods against UIndy. 

KNOW THE FOES 

The Flyers have had a less-than-stellar start to their season after being picked one spot ahead in the GLVC Preseason Coaches' Poll at 7th as Lewis has ended their 2025 portion of the current campaign with a 3-8 overall record with most of their competition coming versus G-MAC and GLIAC opponents. The Flyers from Romeoville are coming back into conference play with a 1-2 posting, as the lone victory was against Lincoln University (Mo.), but have fell by double figures to both the University of Missouri-St. Louis and UIndy. 

The Greyhounds had treaded well so far in the early stage of the season with a 5-6 record overall, while also having an unblemished 3-0 mark in GLVC play. UIndy was picked ahead of both Lewis and the Bearcats at 6th as they are coming into Lebanon losing three straight after they have won their previous four. They are always within winning distance, as their losses have only been coming at an average margin of 5.8 points 

NO OFFENSE, BUT WE PLAYIN' DEFENSE 

As of Wednesday, December 31st, the Bearcats are ranked 5th in the nation across all of NCAA Division II in both scoring defense and field goal percentage defense. 

For scoring defense, McKendree is allowing only 60.0 points by their opponents on average per game, which is first in the conference and 4.8 points ahead of the next-best GLVC school in Southwest Baptist, who is 27th at an 64.8 average. 

And for field goal percentage defense, the Bearcats are holding teams to an average of 36.8% from the entire floor, which also leads the GLVC and is 1.5% better than next on the conference list in Missouri S&T at 14th with 38.3%. 

WE ARE IN HIS NECK OF THE WOODS 

Although a small sample size, senior guard Cha'Vez Woods leads the entire conference in scoring within GLVC play at 23.5 points per game after not appearing in the top-25 at all last year. He also is tabbed second in three-point percentage while shooting a very high clip of 46.3% on 2.1 makes per game. 

Throughout the team's 11 games overall, Woods has been leading his team with an even 16.0 points per game and has scored double figures in nine of his 10 games played so far, including a 32-point outburst against Rockhurst University to notch his collegiate career-high. 

MIGHT AS WELL BOOK IT 

McKendree is as assertive as you can possibly get when games are all but finished, as the team is a perfect 8-0 when leading with two minutes remaining in regulation and not letting the opposition obtain/regain the lead. Furthermore, the Bearcats are an unblemished 9-0 when they are up with five minutes to go in the game. 

On the contrary, McKendree is 0-2 when down at the five-minute mark and 1-2 when trailing to their opponents with two minutes left (lone win vs. Rockhurst on December 1st). 

NCAA'S TOP 100 (as of 12/31/25) 

McKENDREE 

Team: 

• Effective field goal percentage (57th – 54.5%) 
• Field goal percentage (42nd – 48.6%) 
• Field goal percentage defense (5th – 36.8%) 
• Fouls per game (68th – 15.8) 
• Rebound margin (51st – +6.4) 
• Defensive rebounds per game (36th – 28.0) 
• Scoring defense (5th – 60.0) 
• Scoring margin (44th – +12.5) 
• Three-point percentage defense (48th – 29.6%) 
• Turnovers per game (43rd – 11.5) 
• Winning percentage (29th – 81.8%) 

Individual: 

• Rini Harris –– field goal percentage (72nd – 53.9%) 

LEWIS 

Team: 

• Field goal percentage defense (31st – 39.8%) 
• Scoring defense (56th – 69.1) 
• Three-point percentage defense (63rd – 29.9%) 
• Turnover margin (99th – +1.3) 
• Turnovers per game (42nd – 11.4) 

Individual: 

• Arius Alijosius –– points per game (39th – 20.0), three-point percentage (18th – 46.3%), three-pointers per game (12th – 3.4), total three-pointers made (55th – 31) 

INDIANAPOLIS 

Team: 

• Assist-to-turnover ratio (91st – 1.2) 
• Bench points per game (77th – 28.7) 
• Scoring defense (84th – 71.7) 
• Turnovers per game (56th – 11.7) 

Individual: 

• Shaun Arnold –– total rebounds per game. (98th – 7.6), steals per game (74th – 2.0) 
• Carmelo Harris –– minutes per game (72nd – 33:45), three-point percentage (75th – 39.7%), three pointers per game (65th – 2.7) 

LOOKING AHEAD 

After McKendree's 2026-opening homestand, they will venture off to the Show-Me State of Missouri and will continue their conference play against Truman State University on Thursday, January 8th at 7:30 PM CT and then against William Jewell College on Saturday, January 10th at 3:00 PM CT. 

Both contests will be streamed live and on-demand on the respective school's GLVC Sports Network via a subscription/download purchase, as live stats will also be available for fans to tune in. Ticket details will be made public in the coming days. 

TUNE IN-FO 

DATE	TIME (CT)	HOME TEAM	AWAY TEAM	LIVE STATS	WATCH LIVE
1/2/26	7:30 PM	McKendree	Lewis	STATS	WATCH ($)
1/4/26	3:00 PM	McKendree	Indianapolis	STATS	WATCH ($)

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