The following “Starting Five” points offer a quick look inside GLVC men’s basketball action this week:
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[1 // divisional showdowns highlight weekend schedule]
GLVC men's basketball action is back on the court this Thursday and Saturday with seven games on schedule each day. Thursday's matchups are highlighted by Truman State traveling to William Jewell, a game that will feature two teams jockeying for postseason bids. Truman State currently owns fourth in the GLVC Point Rating System, while Jewell is the ninth-ranked eligible squad for the eight-team GLVC Championship Tournament. Two showdowns are featured on Saturday, including GLVC East leaders Bellarmine and Southern Indiana doing battle in Evansville, while West leader Drury travels to Central leader Maryville. For a complete look at this week’s action,
click here.
[2 // the week that was]
GLVC basketball
tipped off last week on Tuesday as Rockhurst connected on a season-high 20 three-point field goals to cruise to a 103-77 win over Haskell. The Hawks made nine threes in the first half to take a 49-32 halftime lead. Eddie Muench led the Hawks with 19 points on 7-of-12 shooting. On Thursday, Southern Indiana senior guard Alex Stein hit the game winner with 2.6 seconds remaining to lead the Screaming Eagles to a 61-59 victory over Maryville. Stein finished with 22 points. Pharroh Gordon missed just two of his 15 shots Thursday and posted 28 points, five rebounds, three assists and three steals to give William Jewell a 91-72 win over Missouri S&T on a night in which Jewell head coach Larry Holley was formally recognized before the game for his 900th career win. A late 9-0 run helped Missouri-St. Louis to a 71-65 road win at Lewis. UW-Parkside put all five starters in double figures, led by Ramar Evans' 20 points in the Rangers' 79-70 home win over Illinois Springfield. UIndy took down McKendree to win its third straight game in Nicoson Hall, 80-75. Ajay Lawton had 17 points, nine assists, four rebounds and four steals in the win. Drury saw Cam Potts (13) and Isaac Johnson (11) combine for 24 points off the bench to help the Panthers to an 88-71 victory over Truman State. A strong second half defensive performance lifted No. 9 Bellarmine past Quincy, 75-54. The Knights got a balanced scoring attack as four players scored in double figures paced by Adam Eberhard's 13 points to go along with his six rebounds and five assists. A year after sinking a program-record 18 3-pointers against Illinois Springfield, Bellarmine drilled a season-high 14 triples against the Prairie Stars on Saturday as the Knights extended their nation's-best winning streak at home to 56 in a 79-54 victory in Knights Hall. Lewis bounced back from a tough loss on Thursday with a 91-77 home win over McKendree. The Flyers had all five starters reach double figures in the contest led by Delaney Blaylock with 24 points. Senior Steven Davis broke out of an offensive slump by equaling a career-high 26 points to help Missouri-St. Louis to a 57-49 road win at UW-Parkside. Aside from one tie and three lead changes in the early going, Truman State led Rockhurst for nearly 38 of the 40 minutes en route to a workmanlike 82-71 win over the Hawks. Turner Scott and Brodric Thomas both had a team-high 17 points, Zach Fischer had 14 as he came within one board of a double-double, and Jake Velky added 13. Southern Indiana led wire-to-wire in posting a 92-65 victory over Quincy. UIndy erased a 13-point second-half deficit in a come-from-behind win against Maryville. Four Greyhounds finished in double figures, including Ajay Lawton's game-high 19 points on 8-of-13 shooting to go with two assists and two steals. Allen Billinger and Isaac Johnson both had 16 points to lead Drury past Missouri S&T, 90-85.
[3 // bellarmine improve to seventh in nabc top 25 poll]
No. 7 Bellarmine remains the lone GLVC men's basketball program ranked in the latest National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) NCAA Division II Men’s Basketball Poll,
it was announced Tuesday. The Knights (20-2, 11-2 GLVC) improved two positions this week after a 2-0 effort that included wins against Quincy and Illinois Springfield last week. This week Bellarmine travels to McKendree and Southern Indiana, a team that is receiving votes outside the top 25 this week.
[4 // uindy’s lawton recognized by league]
UIndy redshirt-senior Ajay Lawton
was named Monday as the GLVC Player of the Week, having averaged 18.0 points, 5.5 assists, 3.0 steals, and 2.5 rebounds in two league wins last week. He picked up his second career weekly honor after shooting 67 percent from the floor and scored 17 and 19 points, respectively, against McKendree and Maryville.
[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 (52.4) and Drury (50.6) are second and eighth in field-goal percentage, and fifth and 10th, respectively, in scoring margin with the Knights at 16.8 and the Panthers at 14.1. The Knights are second in scoring defense (60.8), ninth in assists per game, and 10th in assist/turnover ratio (1.56). Drury (43.8), UIndy (43.6), and UW-Parkside rate third, fifth and eighth, respectively, in three-point field goal percentage, while Drury is sixth in three-point field goals per game (12.3). USI is sixth in total rebounds (969) and Maryville (310) is seventh in fewest fouls. Individually, USI’s Alex Stein is first in the country in free-throw percentage (95.8), followed by UIndy’s Eric Davidson in fourth (93.5). UW-Parkside’s Adam Bonk is third in three-point field-goal percentage (51.9) and Truman’s Zach Fischer (64.4) is 10th in field goal percentage. Fischer also ranks seventh with 13 double-doubles.