Game Notes

Date: December 3, 2019
Time: 7:30 PM
Location: Springfield, Mo. 

Bolivar, Mo. - Southwest Baptist (5-1, 0-0 GLVC) continues their road trip after defeating the FHSU Tigers 74-71 at Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City. The Bearcats will open GLVC play against Highway 13 rival Drury University. Game time is set for 7:30 PM at O'Reilly Family Event Center. 

SCOUTING THE BEARCATS
In their most recent competition, the Bearcats downed the Fort Hays State Tigers 74-71 in Kansas City at Municipal Auditorium. In that game, Quinn Nelson hit a career high 26 points on 6-8 three point shooting. Brady Smith also added 17 points and 9 rebouns in the win.

The Bearcats come into the 2019-20 season following an appearance in the MIAA Tournament last season. Finishing with a 13-15 (7-12 MIAA) regular season record, the Bearcats received the #10 seed in the conference tournament. In the first round, SBU edged out #7 Lindenwood 76-75, becoming the first #10 seed to win a game in the MIAA Tournament and picking up their first conference tournament win since 2006. Washburn put an end to SBU's run in the second round with a 77-58 final score. The Bearcats are now full-time member of the Great Lakes Valley Conference which consists of 16 teams. Lindenwood is also making the move from the MIAA to the GLVC. Three starters return for SBU, Godfrey Rolle, Damian Prgomet, and Quinn Nelson. In addition to those three starters, Tyler Williams and Lucas Brueggemann also return from last year's roster. This year's roster consists of 16 total players, 11 of those being new faces. The breakdown of the roster is 2 seniors, 5 juniors, 4 sophomores, and 5 freshmen. 

SCOUTING THE PANTHERS
The Drury Panthers (Springfield, MO) head into Tuesday's matchup with a 5-0 (0-0 GLVC) record this season. The Panthers began the season almost identically to SBU, playing in the Trevecca Classic. Drury went 2-0 in that tournament, defeating Lake Superior State and Trevecca Nazarene. They have played at home ever since, going 3-0 in their most recent stint. On Saturday, the Panthers hosted MIAA member Rogers State, defeating them 89-64. The Panthers are led by Cal Hartley who is averaging 17.2 points per game on 62.5% from the field and 19-31 from three point range. Three other DU starters are also averaging double-digit points, with Conley Garrison averaging 16.0 points and 5.0 assists per game. Drury also added a Bolivar native and former UCM Mule, Brandon Emmert.

THE COACHES
SBU head coach Clark Sheehy begins his sixth season on the SBU bench after compiling a 62-83 (32-66 MIAA) record while at SBU. Coach Sheehy holds a career coaching record of 244-189 across fourteen seasons while coaching six different All-Americans and over 22 athletes that have moved on to play professional basketball.

Steve Hesser returns as the head coach for Drury, his 16th season in the position. Hesser is currently the program's all-time wins leader with a career coaching record of 323-126 and 191-75 in conference play. In his tenure at Drury, Hesser has led Drury to 9 regular season conference titles and an NCAA DII National Championship in 2013. Last season, Hesser led the Panthers to a 21-12 (13-5 GLVC) record, good for 5th in the conference.

ALL-TIME SERIES
The Bearcats have played against Drury 57 times, SBU winning 22 of those matchups. In the Coach Sheehy era, Drury has been nationally ranked in three of their 5 matchups. Last season, the SBU traveled to Springfield and fell 75-85. The Bearcats led at the half and stuck with the Panthers until late in the game. The team shot 50% from 3-point range, 11-22.