LIBERTY, Mo. - The William Jewell men's basketball team continues a five game road stretch this week as they travel to longtime in-state foes Drury on Thursday followed by a trip to Rolla to visit the Miners of Missouri S&T on Saturday.  

ADMISSION ❌
At this time fans are not permitted to attend games, per Great Lakes Valley Conference policy, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. This policy will be reevaluated again in February by the Council of Presidents.

BROADCAST 🎥 
All games this season can be seen live, for free, on the GLVC Sports Network at GLVCSN.com/Jewell.

LIVE STATS 📊
• Thursday vs. Drury
• Saturday vs. Missouri S&T  

SERIES INFORMATION

• The series between the Cardinals and Panthers dates back more than 105 years, with the first meeting occurring back in the 1912-1913 season. Overall, Drury leads 78-61 all-time with eight contests having gone to overtime. In the most recent meeting in February 2020, the Panthers pulled away late in the first half, winning 85-68 as Carter Olsen scored a career high 14 points.
• Another series that dates back more than a century, the Cardinals and Missouri S&T met for the first time in the 1919-1920 season with Jewell leading the series 28-17. The Miners won the first matchup of this season back in mid-December by a final of 78-74 to break a streak of six straight Jewell.    

CARDINAL NOTES

• The Cardinals are coming off another tough loss over the weekend, falling to Southwest Baptist 74-62. The game was once again closer than the final score appeared as Jewell led for much of the day before a burst at the end of the game by the Bearcats. This was the third game in a row where Jewell's opponent was ranked or receiving votes in the national polls. Eysan Wiley played all 40 minutes, scoring 23 points to lead the Cardinals. 
• Jewell continues to be one of the best shot blocking teams in the country, ranking 30th nationally and second in the GLVC, behind only Drury. The Cardinals block 3.7 shots per game, led by Wiley's 2.2. 
• The Cardinals are enduring a battle with the three point line this season as they are last in the GLVC with 28.2% clip shooting but are first in three point defense, allowing opponents to shoot just 28.8% from three, which is 22nd in Division II. Truman hit 36% last Thursday but no team has made double-digit triples against Jewell yet this season. 
• The Cardinals have showed improved on the glass this year, particularly on the offensive end. Jewell is fifth in the GLVC with more than nine offensive rebounds per game, two more than last year. Forward Grant Stubbs has accounted for much of this improvement as the freshman is 34th in the nation and first in the conference with three second chance grabs per game. 
• The Cardinals have face three consecutive teams who have received votes in the national polls this month, and two others early in the season. Through eight games, Jewell has faced the toughest schedule in the GLVC and 58th toughest nationally. 
• Eysan Wiley enters the second half of the season on multiple top-10 lists among active players in Division II. The senior is second in blocked shots with 144, seventh in rejections per game at 1.57 and eighth in double-doubles with 21. In addition, he is 25th with 1,153 total points. 
• Mason Alexander is shooting nearly 20% better from the floor this season compared to last. He enters the week hitting 53.7% of shots from the field which is ninth in Division II among guards who have played in at least five games. 
• Jevaughn Ferguson is coming off the best game of his career on Saturday as the sophomore scored 17 points on 6-of-10 from the floor and 5-of-6 from the free throw line. He added seven rebounds and one block in a career-best 25 minutes.  
• Five of Jewell's 18 players also played with at least one current teammate at the high school level. Hanson and Hughes both played for Liberty North from 2014-18, with Perry joining them in 2016. Additionally, Jackson Golightly and John Zimmerman were teammates for four years at Maryville High School (MO) from 2013-17. Zimmerman initially attended Northwest Missouri State but did not play basketball giving him two years of eligibility remaining compared to Golightly's one.  
• Carter Olsen enters his third season as a Cardinal but will be listed as a senior this year as he is set to graduate in three years. Additionally, Olsen was married in the offseason to wife, Saige. 
• Grant Stubbs was a big pick up for the Cardinals both on the floor and amongst alumni as he is the eldest son of former Cardinal All-American Weldon Stubbs, '94. The senior Stubbs was inducted into the William Jewell Hall of Fame in 2016. 

ABOUT DRURY 

• The Panthers enter Thursday's game in the midst of seven games in an 18 day span during the month of January, after seeing their first five games postponed.
• Drury is led by senior guard Conley Garrison who averages 21.2 points per game, good for third in the GLVC, along with 6.2 assists which is eighth nationally. 
• Drury will crash the boards as a team as they are second in the conference in both total rebounds per game (38.0) and offensive boards (11.2). Obi Okafor leads the way on the glass with 6.2 rebounds per outing. 
• The Panthers take care of the basketball, as they are first in the GLVC with just 57 giveaways this year. 
• Drury is headed by 17th year coach Steve Hesser who owns more than 340 wins including the 2013 National Championship.

ABOUT MISSOURI S&T

• Missouri S&T is one of the youngest teams in the GLVC this year, with two freshmen in the regular starting lineup, but have been much improved over last year. 
• One of those freshmen, Julien Smith, currently leads the nation in three point field goal attempts and connects regularly, as he is third in makes, shooting 38.4% from the arc. Smith is sixth in the GLVC with 17.9 points per game.
• The Miners are fourth in the league with 37.0 rebounds per game and do not give up many second chance points, pulling down 28.5 defensive boards. 7'0 graduate transfer Mahamadou Kaba-Camera leads Missouri S&T on the glass with 11 per outing. 
• Another freshman to look out for is Kaden Froebe who averages 10 points, 5.4 rebounds, 4.5 assists and 2.7 steals, which is first in the GLVC and 23rd nationally. 
• As a team, the Miners shoot 42.6% from the floor and 33.8% from three. They are a middle-of-the-pack team in the conference, averaging 75.3 points per game.