ROLLA, Mo. – Missouri S&T looks to get back into the win column this weekend when it wraps up its longest homestand of the season against two teams from the Great Lakes Valley Conference's East Division.
The Miners host McKendree Thursday at 7:30 p.m. in the Bearcats' first visit to Rolla since 1998, then face Illinois Springfield to close the four-game set at Billy Key Court in a 3 p.m. contest.
The Miners come into play this week looking to end a nine-game losing streak and pick up their first Great Lakes Valley Conference win at home this year. S&T is 8-11 overall and 1-10 in conference play after suffering home setbacks last week to Quincy and Truman State.
In last week's games, the Miners were unable to slow down the Hawks and Bulldogs in the second half, as the two teams hit a combined 76.6 percent in the final 20 minutes of the two games to pull away.
Clement Bonardo (LaFarlede, France/Costebelle) recorded a career-high 19 points for the Miners in Saturday's contest as one of four S&T players in double figures. The Miners also got 14 points from their leading scorer on the year,
Desmond Buerge (Carthage, Mo./Carthage), as well as 12 from
B.J. McLaughlin (Florissant, Mo./Hazelwood Central) and
Michael Nesbitt (Evansville, Ind./LaLumiere School).
Buerge is averaging 13.3 points per game and is joined in double figures by
Zach Ellis (St. Louis, Mo./Whitfield School), with his average of 12.5 points a game. Ellis has been part of a solid bench attack for the Miners this season, as the S&T reserves have averaged 34.4 points per game or 41.8 percent of the points for the GLVC's third-highest scoring team.
McKendree comes into Thursday's game at 9-10 overall and 2-9 in GLVC play, but got a big victory last week when it used a 63 percent shooting effort -- which included going 10-of-17 from three-point land -- to post an 88-82 upset win over Southern Indiana.
Logan Carson, who hit seven of the Bearcats' 10 three-pointers en route to a 35-point night, leads McKendree with an average of 15.6 points per game. Carson has 32 three-pointers on the season and is one of the GLVC's top free throw shooters at 89.2 percent.
Matt Holmes is also in double figures at 13.2 points a game after scoring 28 in Saturday's loss to Bellarmine, as is Michael Jackson at 12.2 points per contest. As a team, the Bearcats rank fifth in the GLVC in three-point percentage at 37.7 percent.
The Prairie Stars are 8-11 overall and 2-9 in GLVC play prior to their game Thursday at Drury and have three straight since posting their two league wins in back-to-back victories over McKendree and Saint Joseph's.
Jamall Millison leads UIS in scoring with an average of 14.3 points per game and is coming off a 22-point outing last Thursday in a loss to Bellarmine. Millison ranks among the top three-point shooters in the GLVC as he has connected on 41.5 percent of his attempts; his 2.7 treys per game (51 overall) are the most in the conference.
The Prairie Stars have two other double figure scorers in Mark Weems, who is averaging 10.4 points a game and Dylan Sparkman, a 6-10 post player who is at 10.2 a contest; he is also the team's top rebounder with 5.9 per game.
UIS also has two of the top players in assists in the GLVC in Kentrell King, who is sixth with 67 and Davi Austin, who is tied for eighth with 61. Austin also leads the Prairie Stars with 29 steals.
Both games will also feature a historical aspect from a coaching standpoint on the opposing bench. McKendree head coach Harry Statham, now in his 49
th season at the helm of the Bearcat program, has won more games than any active coach in NCAA basketball with 1,086. On Saturday, UIS head coach Bill Walker will become the first former Miner player to face his alma mater in a head coaching capacity. Walker played for the Miners from 1984-87 and averaged 9.1 points a game in that span.
Thursday's links
Game Notes – Miners vs. McKendreeLive VideoLive AudioLive StatsSaturday's linksGame Notes – Miners vs. Illinois SpringfieldLive VideoLive AudioLive Stats
