Game Notes (PDF)

Date: November 16, 2021
Time: 7:00 PM
Location: Bolivar, MO 

Bolivar, Mo. - Southwest Baptist returns home after defeating Trevecca Nazarene 91-69 at a neutral site Saturday afternoon. Their home opening opponent will be Barclay College, an NCCAA team from Haviland, KS.

SCOUTING THE BEARCATS
The Bearcats look to keep their momentum rolling, coming off a 15-6 regular season last year and a 20-8 regular season in 2019-20. Last season, SBU swept the GLVC West Division, earning the #3 seed in the conference tournament. Their 15 conference wins are the second most in a season in program history. Despite losing a key contributor from last year's squad, SBU returns 4 starters, including All-GLVC selections in Quinn Nelson and Mitch Ganote. Nelson led the team in scoring with 324 points (15.4 ppg), three-point field goals made (54, 4th in GLVC), free throw % (60-67, 89.6%, 2nd in GLVC), and minutes played (652, 31.0 per game). He also had 55 rebounds, 42 assists, 15 steals, and 7 blocks. Ganote was a threat all around, recording 4 double-doubles, 5 20-point games, and was 1 rebound shy of a triple-double against Rockhurst. Joe Miller and Jalil Beaubrun also return to the starting lineup and will make a big impact on the floor. A total of 9 Bearcats return from last year's roster, 6 new faces have been added.

The Bearcats are off to a 1-0 start following Saturday's performance in Rolla, MO. In their season opener, SBU defeated Trevecca Nazarene 91- 69, making 50% of their field goals and 52% of their three-pointers. Quinn Nelson led the team in scoring, dropping 27 points on shooting 8-9 from the field and 5-6 from three. Those 27 points are his career high and helped him cross the 1,000 point mark as a Bearcat. Nico Aguirre nearly scored 20 as well, scoring 18 points with 6 rebounds and 3 assists. Doing it all was junior point guard, Mitch Ganote. He finished with a game-high 17 rebounds, scored 9 points, dished 6 assists, made 3 steals, and had 2 blocks. In his first game as a Bearcat, Drew McMillin scored 8 points in 8 minutes. He was perfect with 2 three-pointers and 2 free throws made, and grabbed 2 rebounds with an assist as well. Newcomer Ayden Stone also went 2-2 from the field with 4 points and 2 rebounds.

SCOUTING THE BEARS
The Barclay Bears enter Tuesday's matchup with an 0-4 record against NAIA opponents. In their season opener, Barclay fell to John Brown 101-69 in Siloam Springs. They followed with a 102-81 loss at Friends University, a 111-79 defeat against Southwestern Christian University, and fell 92-82 against Oklahoma Panhandle State. Most recently, the Bears took on NCAA Division I Houston Baptist. In that contest, the Bears fell 122-44 on the road. Chazten Brown was the only member of the Barclay team in double digits, scoring 15 points on 6-15 shooting. He also had a team-high 4 rebounds and 3 steals. As a team, the Bears shot 15-60 (25.0%) from the field and 6-26 (23.1%) from three.

THE COACHES
SBU head coach Clark Sheehy begins his eighth season on the SBU bench after compiling an 97-99 (60-80 conf.) record while at SBU. Coach Sheehy holds a career coaching record of 279-205 across sixteen seasons while coaching six different All-Americans and over 40 athletes that have moved on to play professional basketball.

Tanner Huck joins the Barclay Bears for his first season as a head coach. He returns to his Alma Mater, playing for the Bears a few years back, helping them hang a conference banner. Huck spent the previous three seasons as the head coach at Ecclesia College in Arkansas.

ALL-TIME SERIES
SBU leads the all-time series, winning the only matchup in 2013. In that contest, SBU defeated Barclay 109-40 in Bolivar. As a team, the Bearcats shot 42-71 (59.2%) from the field and 12-21 (57.1%) from three.