Game Notes (PDF)

Date: January 21, 2021
Time: 6:00 PM
Location: Bolivar, MO 

Bolivar, Mo. - The Bearcats (7-2, 7-2 GLVC) return home after a single game road trip against Rockhurst. Thursday's game features the first matchup with Highway 13 rival Drury (5-3, 5-3 GLVC). The teams will meet next Tuesday as well.

SCOUTING THE BEARCATS
After falling to Southern Indiana at home, the Bearcats bounced back with a dominate 72-55 victory over Rockhurst on the road. In that game, SBU held Rockhurst to 19-55 shooting from the field, out-rebounded the Hawks 41-27, and won the blocks category 7-2. Before the meeting with USI, SBU was on a 5-game winning streak. The UMSL Tritons, who have spent time in the national rankings, handed the Bearcats their other loss.

SBU received votes in the NABC Coaches poll for the fourth straight week. In the conference, the Bearcats are first in field goal % defense (40.3%), third in scoring margin (+7.8), fourth in field goal % (48.4%), and fourth in scoring defense (70.3). Individually in the GLVC, Brady Smith ranks 9th in scoring (17.2 ppg) and Quinn Nelson is 12th at 16.0 ppg. Mitch Ganote is averaging 4.67 assists per game (4th in GLVC) and is shooting 55.9% from the field (7th in GLVC). Smith leads the team in rebounds, snagging an average of 5.6 per game. Just behind him with 5.1 rebounds per contest is Joe Miller. He is also shooting 50.0% from the field, with 9.7 ppg.

The Bearcats are coming off their best season in program history since 2009-10. Last year, the Bearcats finished 20-9 (13-7 GLVC). In the regular season rankings, the Bearcats finished fourth out of the sixteen GLVC teams. They upset #12 Southern Indiana and #1 Bellarmine both on the road, and defeated Drury at home for the first time in eight years. Eight players return from last year's roster. Second team All-GLVC honoree Brady Smith returns for his senior campaign. Two other starters from last season also return in juniors Quinn Nelson and Joe Miller. Sophomore Mitch Ganote was SBU's sixth man last season, and will play quite a bit during the 2020-21 season. The Bearcats will see several other new faces make an impact as well.

SCOUTING THE PANTHERS
The Drury Panthers (Springfield, MO) bring a 5-3 record into Thursday's matchup. They have won their last two against Rockhurst and William Jewell, but fell to Truman State and Missouri-St. Louis back-to-back prior to that. The Panthers lead the GLVC in scoring offense (83.5 ppg) but rank 13th in scoring defense (79.1 ppg). Beyond the arc, Drury is shooting 40.9%, but they have been struggling at the free throw line, making just 64.6% (last in GLVC). Conley Garrison and Jason Montgomery rank 4th and 5th in the GLVC in scoring, averaging 19.4 and 19.0 ppg respectively. Garrison leads the GLVC in assists, averaging 5.75 per game. Montgomery is 6th in field goal percentage at 56.9%. Both have been named GLVC Player of the Week.

THE COACHES
SBU head coach Clark Sheehy begins his seventh season on the SBU bench after compiling an 82-92 (45-73 conf.) record while at SBU. Coach Sheehy holds a career coaching record of 264-198 across fifteen seasons while coaching six different All-Americans and over 40 athletes that have moved on to play professional basketball.

Steve Hesser continues his position as the leader of the Panthers, 2020-21 marking his 17th season with the team. He is the program's winningest coach, holding a record of 343-135 at DU. In 2013, Hesser helped the Panthers claim the NCAA DII National Championship.

ALL-TIME SERIES
SBU trails the all-time series 23-36. Last year, the Bearcats split the season series with the Panthers 1-1. Drury won the first game in Springfield by a narrow deficit of 70-76. SBU later defeated Drury for the first time in 8 years, 82-74. In that victory, Brady Smith exploded for 29 points on 9-11 shooting from the field (both career highs). He also had 7 rebounds, 5 assists, a block and a steal. Quinn Nelson and Mitch Ganote hit double digits in that win as well.