The following “Starting Five” points offer a quick look inside GLVC men’s basketball action this week:
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[1 // positioning for postseason picking up]
With just two weeks left in the regular season, GLVC men's basketball teams are fighting for position in the postseason. Bellarmine currently holds the top ranking in the GLVC Point Rating System at 4.37, followed by Drury in second at 3.96. The race for the GLVC Championship Tournament's third, fourth and fifth seeds are much closer as Southern Indiana and Truman State are tied for third at 3.79, while Indianapolis is in fifth at 3.75. William Jewell, currently ninth overall at 3.07 and on the outside looking in, will host two teams currently in the field in Southern Indiana and Indianapolis on Thursday and Saturday, respectively. Another key matchup Thursday will be Lewis (PRS #7) at Drury (PRS #2), while Bellarmine (PRS #1) at Truman State (PRS #3) will be the featured contest on Saturday. For a complete look at this week’s action,
click here.
[2 // the week that was]
GLVC basketball
tipped off last week with a number of impressive individual performances on Thursday. UIndy never led in regulation, but found a way to earn a 77-70 win in overtime on Thursday at Missouri-St. Louis. Jesse Kempson had a huge night, pulling down a career-best 14 rebounds and scoring 22 points. Isaac Johnson scored a season-high 28 points as Drury won its fifth straight game with an 83-67 win over Rockhurst. Led by red-hot shooter Adam Bonk, who finished with a career-high 24 points and went 5-for-9 from three-point land, UW-Parkside topped Quincy on the road 78-67 to open its four-game road trip. Nolan Berry tipped in a shot at the buzzer to lift Maryville to a pulsating 83-81 victory over Lewis in Moloney Arena. The game-winning basket capped a sterling night for Berry who finished with 21 points and 18 rebounds, including 10 on the offensive glass. Illinois Springfield's Eddie Longmeyer and Southern Indiana's Emmanuel Little each scored 23 points as the Prairie Stars topped the Screaming Eagles, 79-70. Truman's Brodric Thomas posted 21 points, 10 rebounds and five assists in the Bulldogs' 81-80 victory over William Jewell. Elsewhere, No. 7 Bellarmine was paced by Brent Bach’s 21 points in the Knights’ 87-66 victory at McKendree. On Saturday, Bellarmine ended Southern Indiana's 20-game home winning streak with a 93-48 victory on Saturday. GLVC Player of the Week Chivarsky Corbett posted career highs in points and rebounds with 30 and 12 respectively as the 6-7 junior drained 13 of 14 shots and also dished out four assists to lead the Knights. In a cross-divisional showdown between West leader Drury and Central leader Maryville, the Panthers built a 21-point lead midway through the second half and then held on for an 85-84 win in St. Louis. Conley Garrison and Julius Walker both had 13 points to lead Drury. In a 71-57 Lewis win over UW-Parkside, Adam Pischke led three Flyers in double figures with 14 points. Truman State just finished a stretch where it played eight of 10 games on the road, going 7-3 in that span with an 86-72 win at Quincy. Rockhurst freshmen Quinton Curry and Curtis Lewis combined for 43 points, including 24 points in the paint, in the Hawks’ 83-71 victory at McKendree. Missouri-St. Louis senior Steven Davis led all scorers with 21 points, while seniors Elijah Watson (11 points, 12 assists) and D.J. White (10 points, 10 rebounds) each had a double-double in the Tritons’ 82-65 win at Missouri S&T. William Jewell downed Illinois Springfield 84-69 behind Patrick Whelan's game-high 22 points, including 19 in the first half. Keith Hayes netted 17 points, while Pharroh Gordon grabbed his 11th double-double of the season with 17 points and 13 rebounds, to go along with four assists.
[3 // bellarmine remains seventh in nabc top 25 poll]
No. 7 Bellarmine remains the lone GLVC program ranked in the latest National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) NCAA Division II Men’s Basketball Poll,
it was announced Tuesday. The Knights (22-2, 13-2 GLVC) stayed at No. 7 with wins over McKendree (87-66) and Southern Indiana (93-48). This week Bellarmine travels to Rockhurst on Thursday and Truman State on Saturday.
[4 // 30-20-10]
Three GLVC standouts posted impressive performances last week, reaching either the 30-point, 20-rebound, or 10-assist mark in a game. GLVC Player of the Week Chivarsky Corbett of Bellarmine racked up 30 points in a 45-point win at Southern Indiana on Saturday, marking the 12th occasion a league player has reached 30 points in a game this year. William Jewell’s Pharroh Gordon grabbed 20 rebounds against Truman State this past Thursday, which was the third time a GLVC standout grabbed 20 boards or more this year. On both Thursday and Saturday, Missouri-St. Louis guard Elijah Watson met the 10-assist standard against Indianapolis and Missouri S&T. In fact, he dished 12 dimes against the Miners, leaving him two shy of his GLVC-best total of 14 assists he set back in November. Five players have combined to reach 10 assists in a game on 11 occasions this year, led by Watson’s five efforts.
[5 // among the nation’s best]
In the recent statistical report published by the NCAA, several GLVC teams and individuals rank among the nation’s top 10 in select categories. Bellarmine (53.1) and Drury (50.7) are second and seventh in field-goal percentage. The Knights are second in scoring defense (60.5), fourth in scoring margin (18.2), sixth in assists per game (19.0), and 10th in assist/turnover ratio (1.60). The Panthers are also 10th in scoring offense (88.5). Drury (43.8), UIndy (42.7), and UW-Parkside (41.7) rate second, fifth and seventh, respectively, in three-point field goal percentage, Drury is fifth in three-point field goals per game (12.3), and William Jewell is eighth in free-throw percentage (78.0). Southern Indiana is sixth in total rebounds (969) and Maryville is eighth in rebounding margin (9.5) and fewest fouls (337). Bellarmine and USI are ninth in total assists (457) and rebounds (1,026), respectively. Individually, UW-Parkside’s Adam Bonk is first in three-point field-goal percentage (50.8), while USI’s Alex Stein is first in the country in free-throw percentage (96.0), followed by UIndy’s Eric Davidson in eighth (92.2). Maryville’s Nolan Berry is 10th in rebounds per game (11.0), and Truman’s Zach Fischer ranks ninth with 14 double-doubles.