Southern Illinois News

Men's Basketball to Host Lewis, Heads to UIndy Saturday

McKendree University men's basketball finishes its three-game home slate on Thursday in a 7:30 p.m. contest against Lewis followed by a 2 p.m. game at No. 18University of Indianapolis on Saturday. McKendree posted an 82-74 win over Maryville on Saturday, improving to 7-8 overall on the season heading into this week's Great Lakes Valley Conference games. 

The Bearcats hold a 3-5 record in GLVC play while Lewis has collected a 2-7 GLVC record and Indianapolis ties for first with a 7-2 conference record. 

ABOUT THE BEARCATS 
The Bearcats average 76.0 points per game, ranking top three in all three shooting percentage categories, including a second-place mark in free throw percentage (76.6 percent) and third in both field goal percentage (49.6 percent) and three-point percentage (38.3 percent). Against Maryville, McKendree shot their highest percentages of the season at 60.5 percent from the field, 53.8 percent beyond the arc, and 94.1 percent at the foul stripe. 

Defensively, McKendree holds its opponents to an average of 75.1 points per game and takes the No. 1 spot in defensive rebounds (27.3 per game) and blocked shots across the league with 3.87 per game. Sophomore forward Caleb Zurliene ranks 13th in Division II and first in the GLVC with 2.07 blocked shots per game. 

Senior guard Bryson Bultman leads the Bearcats at 17.1 points per game after a season-high 36-point performance against Maryville, ranking third in scoring in the GLVC, while junior forward Milos Vicentic sits at fourth with 16.9 points per game. Bultman also leads the Beracats at 7.1 rebounds per game in addition to dishing out a league-high 5.60 assists per game, enough to rank 16th in Division II. 

With a 46.94 three-point shooting percentage, senior guard Eric Powell II is 11th in the nation, averaging 3.07 made threes per game. Powell nets double figures for the Bearcats at 13.4 points per game. 

ABOUT THE FLYERS 
The Flyers come into Thursday's game sporting a 6-10 overall record following an 82-64 win over UMSL on Monday evening to snap a three game losing streak. 

As a team, Lewis nets an average of 69.7 points per game while shooting 46.8 percent from the field, 35.2 percent from the three-point line, and a GLVC fifth-highest 74.8 percent from the free throw line. 

Defensively, Lewis holds its opponents to 71.5 points per game as well as an average of 31.1 rebounds, the fourth-lowest in the GLVC. 

Leading the Flyers offensively are junior guard Beau Frericks averaging 15.6 points and sophomore guard Jamere Hill at 11.4 points per game. Frericks ranks fourth in the GLVC, netting 89.6 percent of shots from the free throw line while Hill sits third with 1.81 steals per game. 

In the last meeting between Lewis and McKendree, the Flyers took a win over the Bearcats, 68-58. 

ABOUT THE GREYHOUNDS 
The Greyhounds hold a 15-2 overall record for the 2022-23 season, including a nine-game win streak with their most recent win against Maryville 79-53. 

Indianapolis is second in the league in scoring, averaging 79.2 points per game and shooting 47.7 percent from the field, 37.4 percent from the three-point line, and 70.9 percent from the free throw line. 

Defensively, Indianapolis is top-ranked in holding opponents to just 61.8 points per game and 38.6 percent from the field while snagging a league-high 37.4 rebounds per game. 

Leading Indianapolis in scoring are redshirt sophomore guard Jesse Bingham and junior center Kendrick Tchoua averaging 16.0 points and 13.8 points, respectively. Bingham's 16-point average is fifth-highest in the GLVC while Tchoua is third in rebounding with 7.6 per game. 

In the last game between McKendree and Indianapolis, the Bearcats came away with a 78-71 win over the Greyhounds. 

Original source can be found here