GAMES 14 AND 15: TRUMAN AT ILLINOIS SPRINGFIELD | TRUMAN AT MCKENDREE
	Truman Bulldogs 2016-17 Record: 10-3, 2-1 GLVC Head Coach: Chris Foster, Third season Roster | Schedule | Statistics
	Illinois Springfield Prairie Stars 2016-17 Record: 5-6, 0-2 GLVC Head Coach: Bill Walker, Third season Roster | Schedule | Statistics
	McKendree Bearcats 2016-17 Record: 6-4, 0-2 GLVC Head Coach: Harry Statham, 51st season Roster | Schedule | Statistics
	Game Information When? January 5, 2017 | 7:30 p.m. January 7, 2017 | 3 p.m. Where? Springfield, Ill. | The Recreation and Athletic Center (3,000) Lebanon, Ill. | Melvin Price Convocation Center (1,600) Follow Along Live Stats: Illinois Springfield | McKendree Live Video: Illinois Springfield | McKendree Radio: Both Twitter Truman Athletics | #BewareOfDog Truman Men's Basketball

Truman Game Notes (.PDF)

Kirksville, Mo. - Fresh off an 87-point steamrolling of Central Christian College of the Bible on Saturday in Pershing Arena, the Truman men's basketball team will jump back into Great Lakes Valley Conference play with a pair of road tests. The Bulldogs will head to the Land of Lincoln to battle Illinois Springfield (5-6, 0-2 GLVC) on Thursday at 7:30 p.m. and McKendree (6-4, 0-2 GLVC) on Saturday at 3 p.m.

The large margin on Saturday against the Saints allowed for those that haven't gotten much playing time to get in and Taurin Hughes more than took advantage of the opportunity. The 5-11 guard poured in a game-high 22 points on 7-of-9 shooting from behind the arc to go with one free throw make, a rebound and one assist. The Lee's Summit, Mo. native made his first six looks from behind the arc and had his own bench going bananas with each swish.

With each game, redshirt senior, Cory Myers, gets closer and closer to reaching the 1,000-point plateau. The Ankeny, Iowa native now finds himself 68 points away from the mark just 13 games into his final season in the Purple and White. Myers (14.2 points per game) is currently one of four scorers averaging at least 10 points per contest for Truman as he is joined by Jake Velky (17.0), Nathan Messer (14.5) and Connor Erickson (10.4). Those four and their teammates will look to keep up the scoring against the Prairie Stars and Bearcats, who have two of the better offenses in the league.

Scouting the Prairie Stars
Illinois Springfield boasts a quartet of players averaging at least 10 points per game including Zach Steinberg (16.1), Eddie Longmeyer (14.8), Vince Walker (10.9), and Paxton Harmon (10.8). Steinberg, a sophomore from Wildwood, Mo., is ninth in the Great Lakes Valley Conference in points per game and eighth in total points with 202. He is also averaging a double-double with nearly 11 rebounds per contest. Steinberg is listed as the team's lone center while Longmeyer is one of just two juniors for the Prairie Stars. Prior to UIS, the 6-3 guard was a Second-Team All-American at Lincoln Land Community College in Springfield. Longmeyer's 4.7 assists per game are good for fourth in the league. Those two are the leaders in scoring, but Walker and Harmon are the serious threats from behind the arc. Respectively, those two are shooting 35.6 percent (21-of-59) and 41.9 percent (18-for-43) from three-point land.

Scouting the Bearcats
McKendree is in year No. 51 under head coach, Harry Statham. Yes, you read that right. Statham is the all-time wins leader in college basketball history at the four-year level with 1,107 victories to his name and is one of just four men's coaches in college basketball history at the four-year level of any division to reach the 1,000-win mark. In his 51st season, Statham has four regulars putting up double-figure scoring averages including Michael Jackson (17.1), Justin Blanks (17.0), Nolan Gerling (16.0), and Nate Michael (12.6). David Franklin is averaging 29 points and 14 rebounds per contest, but has played in just one game. Jackson, Blanks and Gerling are all amongst the league's top 13 scorers. Gerling is making nearly 60 percent of his attempts from the floor (57-of-96) while Jackson is a serious threat from behind the arc at 42 percent (21-for-50).

GLVC in the NABC
Tuesday, the fifth edition of the National Association of Basketball Coaches poll was released and the Great Lakes Valley Conference had some good representation within it. Three programs were featured in the top 25 including Drury at No. 12 (10-1, 3-0 GLVC), Bellarmine at No. 13 (10-2, 2-0 GLVC) and Southern Indiana at No. 17 (12-0, 2-0 GLVC). Quincy (13-1, 3-0 GLVC) nearly cracked the top 25 at No. 27 with 27 votes received. Kentucky Wesleyan, whom Truman faced on Dec. 17 (73-74), came in at 34th while receiving four nods.

Up Next
From Jan. 12-14, the Bulldogs will play three games in as many days including home affairs with No. 17 Southern Indiana on Thursday (7:30 p.m.) and No. 13 Bellarmine on Friday (6:30 p.m.) before playing at Creighton, the No. 10 Division I team in the nation, in an exhibition on Saturday (12 p.m.).