BOLIVAR, MO & KANSAS CITY, MO – The Miners will be traveling to face the Southwest Baptist Bearcats and the Rockhurst Hawks in the second-to-last week of the regular season. The #11-ranked team in the nation has clinched a berth in the Great Lakes Valley Conference championships and now looks to maintain its national ranking as it awaits the release of the first regional rankings next week.

About the Bearcats

Southwest Baptist is 7-15 on the season with a 4-12 record in conference, tying them with Quincy for the second-lowest score in the GLVC's point rating system (PRS). The Bearcats' losing streak has now reached four games, having lost to Upper Iowa, William Jewell, Truman State, and Rockhurst this month.

Junior guard Drenin Dinkins earned the GLVC Player of the Week award at the start of this month after averaging 31 points per game in games against Quincy and Upper Iowa. He is SBU's leading scorer, averaging the third-most points per game in the conference at 19.2 PPG. He is also first in the conference and tenth in Division II in free throw percentage, with 90.4%. Meanwhile, senior guard David Hector is 9th in the conference in steals per game (1.4) and 10th in rebounds per game (6.3).

The Miners' history with the Bearcats has been very even over the last two seasons, with the teams each going 2-2 during that time. However, S&T won the previous two games, with the most recent contest in Bolivar resulting in a 78-59 Miner victory last January.

About the Hawks

Rockhurst is fighting to secure one of the last spots in the GLVC tournament, currently tied for 6th in the most recent PRS. They split last week's games, going 1-1 with a loss to Drury on Thursday before picking up a win over Southwest Baptist on Saturday. They are 16-8 overall and 10-6 in conference, with a home game against Lincoln on Saturday scheduled before they face S&T.

The Hawks boast three of the top 15 scorers in the conference, led by Brian Hawthorne's 15.8 points per game, which ranks him 9th in the GLVC. They also have the conference's leading rebounder in Dan Carr, a 6-9 graduate student, who is averaging 9.3 rebounds per game.

The Miners have won two of the last three games against the Hawks in Kansas City, most recently defeating them 78-75 last February in a game that saw four Miners score in double digits.

About the Miners

S&T remains atop the conference with a 20-3 overall record and a 14-2 GLVC record. Their national ranking took a slight hit after falling to William Jewell 85-80 in overtime last week, dropping them to #11 in the most recent National Association of Basketball Coaches poll. Despite the loss, the team is still 9th in Division II for field goal percentage and 12th in scoring margin.

Andrew Young (Ballwin, MO/Marquette) returned to form in Saturday's game against Truman after missing the game against Jewell. He scored 21 points and grabbed 8 rebounds to help the Miners win their final home game 69-68 over the Bulldogs. He is now in the top four in the GLVC for scoring, rebounding, field goal percentage, and blocks. Lovell Williams (Rogers, MN/Maple Grove) has continued to excel, now ranking 2nd in the conference in assists per game, 3rd in assist-to-turnover ratio, and 23rd in points per game.
 

S&T wraps up the regular season with visits to Lincoln and Drury.

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