LIBERTY, Mo. - The William Jewell men's basketball team begins a five game road trip on Wednesday at Truman before heading to Bolivar for a rematch with Southwest Baptist on Saturday afternoon.  

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 📊
• Wednesday vs. Truman 

SERIES INFORMATION

• The Cardinals have never beaten Truman, as the Bulldogs have won all 12 meetings in the NCAA era. In the most recent meeting, Truman shot 62% from the floor as a team and 57% from three to to runaway 92-63. Jackson Golightly had 17 to lead Jewell.  
• Jewell trails the Bearcats 5-2 in the NCAA era, including dropping the most recent matchup back in December by a final of 89-71. SBU shot 64% in the opening half to build a lead the Cardinals couldn't overcome, despite outscoring the Bearcats in the second period. Grant Stubbs and Golightly both picked up their first career double-doubles in the loss with 18 points and 12 rebounds and 14 points, 11 boards respectively.   

CARDINAL NOTES

• The Cardinals are coming off a a 65-52 decision to Missouri-St. Louis on Sunday. The contest was much closer than the final score indicated as the Cardinals led for much of the game, including by as many as 11 in the opening half, before the Tritons came storming back in the second period. Eysan Wiley scored 15 points in his return to the court to lead Jewell.  
• In Sunday's game, Wiley also grabbed three blocked shots to move past Chad Jones (1993-97) into the No. 2 spot on Jewell's all-time career blocks list. His 142 career rejections is tops among all active Division II players and 22nd across all divisions of the NCAA. 
• Grant Stubbs continues to be one of the top rookies in Division II, ranked fifth in scoring among freshmen who have played in at least four games. The hometown kid is also one of only three freshmen nationally to have a double-double and the only one to have multiple. 
• The three point line has been better for the Cardinals as of late, shooting 28% in their last two games, but still continues to be somewhat of a mystery. With a guard heavy team the long range shot has traditionally been one of the Cardinals stronger areas but only Mason Alexander is shooting better than 29% from three, coming in on a 48% clip. Defensively though, Jewell is equally as stiff, holding their opponents to just 29% which is second in the GLVC and 32nd nationally. 
• Despite some of the struggles from long range as a team, it's no surprise that Alexander has continued to excel from three. The junior is shooting 38.6% for his career which tied for 12th on Jewell's all-time list and is 48th among active Division II players. His 120 made three point field goals is 41st in Division II. 
• Jewell continues to be a force in the paint defensively, and only gets better with the return of Wiley. As a team, the Cardinals are blocking 4.6 shots per game, which is second only to Drury's 4.7 in GLVC play and ranks 11th in Division II. 
• While he hasn't had one yet this season with limited action due to COVID-19 protocol, Wiley has been a double-double machine throughout his career. The senior is currently fifth among all active Division II players with 21 career double-doubles, tied with Northwest Missouri State's Ryan Hawkins. Only Southern Indiana's Emmanuel Little has more among GLVC players with 25.  
• 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 TRUMAN 

• Truman will be another tough test in the early part of 2021 for Jewell as they enter the week ranked No. 7 in the latest NABC poll. This number will likely drop after a 90-83 loss to Maryville but they followed with a quality 76-69 win over Southern Indiana. 
• The Bulldogs are third in the GLVC with their 80.6 points per night while allowing just 73. They are in the top three in the conference in 11 statistical categories, including free throw percentage where they are tops with and 80.3% clip.
• Dylan Peeters has been a force in the early going, currently leading the nation with five double-doubles, averaging 13.6 points and 10.3 rebounds. 
• Newcomer Masen Miller has been a big impact for the Bulldogs thus far, averaging better than 15 points, and is second in Division II in total three point field goals made.

ABOUT SOUTHWEST BAPTIST

• Southwest Baptist claimed the first matchup of the year between these two teams, 89-71, back on December 18. 
• The Bearcats are the top shooting team in the conference, connecting on 51.4% of their shots from the floor while outscoring their opponents on average by 9.2 points. 
• Brady Smith has been dominant at times this season, averaging 18.2 points, scoring at least 20 twice. 
• Three other players, Quinn Nelson, Mitch Ganote and Joe Miller also average in double figures. Meanwhile, Ricky Crawford, Jr. only averages about 5.5 points per game but scored a team-high 16 in the previous meeting with the Cardinals. 
• The Bearcats average 18 free throws per night and shoot at a 77.6% clip but also allow 18.4 free shots, as they are last in the conference, committing on average more than 20 fouls per game.