LEBANON, Ill. – The (RV) men's basketball team will embark on a two-game road swing in the Show-Me state of Missouri, as they will take on Truman State University on Thursday, January 8th at 7:30 PM CT, followed by William Jewell College on Saturday, January 10th at 3:00 PM CT. 

Fans can watch both games live or on-demand on the respective institution'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 Truman State on NEMO Pressbox NP1. 

[Truman State] [William Jewell] 

SCOUTING THE LAST OUTINGS 

The (RV) men's basketball team came into the opening days of the 2026 calendar year riding a four-game win streak dating back to December 11th to close out non-conference play and turn their attention to GLVC opposition the rest of the way. They recently went 1-1 on the week with a winning shutdown effort against in-state Lewis University on Friday, January 2nd, before snapping their win-streak against the University of Indianapolis on Sunday, January 4th.  

Against the Flyers, the team held them to a Bearcat season-best 19 first-half points, to which they were way ahead by 20. They then utilized their deep bench for the majority of the second half and kept Lewis at bay for the whole game, winning 68-44. Senior guard Cha'Vez Woods (Louisville, Ky.) led the team in scoring with his eighth-straight double-digit scoring game with 17 on the evening on 5-for-7 (71.4%) shooting and 4-for-6 (66.6%) from long range to go with a couple of rebounds and a steal. Sophomore guard Rini Harris (O'Fallon, Ill.) went a perfect 5-for-5 (100%) scoring, while also grabbing seven boards, four dishes, and a trio of takeaways. The Bearcats did not let a single Lewis player reach double figures; it is the fourth time this season the team has done so. The 44 points allowed in the victory are the fewest McKendree has given up against a GLVC opponent since allowing 40 from Quincy University on February 28th, 2022 in the first round of the GLVC Tournament, where the Bearcats won by 37. The win marked a 10-2 record by the McKendree squad, which was their best start to a season since posting the same record within the first 12 games of the 2017-18 season. 

Against the Greyhounds, it was all ground and pound as neither side led more than 10 points in the tight GLVC contest. Baskets were traded and fouls were everlasting with 13 lead changes. McKendree found themselves up by five at the break and tied with a little under two minutes to go, but a three-point shot by UIndy propelled them to a 10-1 run and escape Lebanon with a 82-75 victory. Harris led the Bearcats with 22 points on 6-for-13 (46.2%) shooting while going 10-for-12 (83.3%) from the line, along with five rebounds, three assists, a steal, and a block. Woods and freshman guard Andrew Moore (Montgomery County, Mo.) each tabbed 15 points and four boards apiece in the setback, with the former collecting an assist and the latter earning a takeaway. Finishing with eight points, senior forward Noah Franklin (Cobden, Ill.) corralled a McKendree personal-high 13 rebounds with five coming on the offensive end. 

HISTORY SHOWCASE 

Against Truman State, this will be the 14th meeting as a member of NCAA Division II as the overall series favors the Bulldogs 10-3. Truman State came away victorious last season in Lebanon with a four-point win, pushing the win-streak to two. Prior to that, McKendree won three of the last four meetings, all within five points or less, including their only win in Kirksville, Missouri on November 26th, 2022. 

Against William Jewell, this will also be the 14th meeting between the two schools in the Division II era. This time, the Bearcats hold the series' edge 9-4, as they won seven of the last eight recent outings, with one of them coming in the GLVC Tournament. Despite the lopsided lead against the Cardinals, McKendree is an even 3-3 in Liberty, Missouri since 2013-14. 

KNOW THE FOES 

The Bulldogs have yet to find their stride in the early part of the season as they sit on a 5-8 record overall with a 2-3 mark in GLVC action. Being picked 12th in this year's GLVC Preseason Coaches Poll, Truman State has yet to win three straight, as they have come close to that twice already. They are most recently coming off a 75-83 road loss at then-No.16 Missouri S&T after picking up two solid wins against the reigning conference champion Lincoln University (Mo.) by two points in Jefferson City, while hanging 100 in defeating Missouri Western State University prior to that. 

The Cardinals have been looking for consistency as well with also posting a 2-3 record in conference play, as they are 6-7 on the year while playing some of the nation's best programs. WJC has won three of their last four game, including their most recent 73-69 victory at Drury University on Sunday after falling by just three to the ranked Missouri S&T. They will face the Saints of Maryville University at home on Thursday before taking on the Bearcats on Saturday. 

BACK ON TOP 

As of Wednesday, January 7th, the Bearcats are back to leading the nation across all of NCAA Division II in field goal percentage defense, allowing only 36.7% of opponents' shots to go in. That is 2.5 points greater than the next-best GLVC team in the rankings, which happens to be Missouri S&T at 21st with a 39.2 percentage. 

McKendree is also holding firm in scoring defense as well, being 4th in the division and allowing only 60.5 points per game in 13 contests so far. It is 2.5 points behind the nation's leading team (Northern Michigan University). 

BOARDING SCHOOL 

The 13 total rebounds – with five coming on the offensive end – against UIndy for Noah Franklin are the most by any Bearcat this season, and are the most by a McKendree player since former Bearcat Luka Mateski had baker's dozen twice during the 2024-25 season, with the most recent coming in the final game against Missouri S&T in the GLVC Tournament. 

That number in the setback also shot Franklin up to second within the GLVC in total rebounding at 9.6 average, while leading the conference in defensive rebounding alone at 7.2 per game. 

WE NEED LEADS! 

Sunday's falter against UIndy was only the second time this season that McKendree surrendered a halftime lead, as they are heading into Truman State with a 10-2 record when holding the advantage at the extended break. The only other time the Bearcats lost the edge going into the second half of play was their initial setback of the year to Central Missouri on November 25th within the DoubleTree by Hilton Thanksgiving Classic as they led 33-29 and eventually lost 67-75. 

The Bearcats are 0-1 when trailing at the half, which was at Illinois Springfield on December 4th when they were down 32-36 and faltered 58-63. They have yet have a game tied at halftime. 

NCAA'S TOP 100 (as of 1/7/26) 

McKENDREE 

Team: 

• Effective field goal percentage (89th – 53.3%) 
• Field goal percentage (63rd – 47.5%) 
• Field goal percentage defense (1st – 36.7%) 
• Fouls per game (90th – 16.4) 
• Rebound margin (57th – +5.8) 
• Defensive rebounds per game (34th – 27.9) 
• Scoring defense (4th – 60.5) 
• Scoring margin (39th – +11.9) 
• Three-point percentage defense (50th – 30.0%) 
• Turnover margin (90th – +1.5) 
• Turnovers per game (27th – 11.2) 
• Winning percentage (37th – 76.9%) 

Individual: 

• Rini Harris –– field goal percentage (58th – 55.0%) 
• Cha'Vez Woods –– free throw percentage (94th – 84.8%) 

TRUMAN STATE 

Team: 

• Fast break points (62nd – 14.6) 
• Field goal percentage (81st – 47.0%) 
• Free throw attempts per game (79th – 23.1) 
• Free throw percentage (75th – 74.0%) 
• Free throws made per game (56th – 17.1) 

Individual: 

• Emmanuel Byrd –– total blocks (91st – 16), double-doubles (24th – 5), total rebounds (32nd – 115), defensive rebounds per game (45th – 6.2), offensive rebounds per game (90th – 2.7), total rebounds per game (37th – 8.8) 
• Jahki Parrinello ––  free throw attempts (16th – 101), total free throws made (27th – 71) 

WILLIAM JEWELL 

Team: 

• Fouls per game (69th – 15.9) 
• Free throw percentage (70th – 74.2) 
• Scoring defense (53rd – 69.2) 
• Steals per game (60th – 9.0) 
• Three-point attempts per game (45th – 27.2) 
• Three-point percentage defense (74th – 30.6%) 
• Three-pointers per game (89th – 8.7) 
• Turnover margin (95th – 1.2) 
• Turnovers per game (77th – 12.1) 

Individual: 

• Kanukayi Gudza –– assist-to-turnover ratio (19th – +2.8), 
• Justice Sutton –– free throw percentage (49th – 87.5%), minutes per game (22nd – 35:39), points per game (87th  – 17.9) 

LOOKING AHEAD 

After the two-game swing in Missouri, McKendree will return home for a pair, as they will face Southwest Baptist University on Thursday, January 15th at 7:30 PM, followed by Drury University on Saturday, January 17th at 3:00 PM CT with both contests to be played at the Harry M. Statham Sports Center in Lebanon, Illinois. 

Both contests will be streamed live and on-demand on the Bearcats' GLVC Sports Network via a subscription/download purchase, as live stats will also be available for fans to tune in. Tickets can be found on the team's schedule at mckbearcats.com. 

TUNE IN-FO 

DATE	TIME (CT)	HOME TEAM	AWAY TEAM	LIVE STATS	WATCH LIVE
1/8/26	7:30 PM	Truman State	McKendree	STATS	WATCH ($)
1/10/26	3:00 PM	William Jewell	McKendree	STATS	WATCH ($)

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