LIBERTY, Mo. - The William Jewell men's basketball team hosts 19th ranked Missouri-St. Louis on Thursday in one of their toughest challenges of the season before traveling to Missouri S&T on Saturday afternoon.

THE SERIES
Jewell will look to snap a seven game losing skid to the Tritons, last winning in January 2017. Overall the Cardinals trail UMSL 21-7 since 1967. On the other side, Jewell leads the all-time series over Missouri S&T 28-19, dating back to 1920 with the Cardinals having won three straight.   

CARDINAL NOTES

• The Cardinals are coming off a big home win last Saturday, defeating Southwest Baptist 85-69 for their second win in a row over the Bearcats and bouncing back from a tough offensive night on Thursday. 
• Mason Alexander and Jordan Jermain are one of the most potent duos from the three point line in program history. The pair has combined for 413 three point field goals, playing together since November 2020. The only two teammates to boast more are Cam Cooper and Clint Underwood with 496, from 2002-2005. Cooper is the all-time three point leader with 306 while Underwood is 17th. Alexander enters the week with 263 for his career, currently fourth all-time and just four shy of moving into second place, while Jermain has 150 and has cracked the top-10. 
• Jewell continues to be one of the top rebounding teams in the GLVC, thanks in large part to center Heri Tshiyoyo. After coming onto the scene in a big way last year as a transfer, averaging eight boards per game which was third in the conference, the fifth-year senior has upped his game this winter, now leading the league with 9.5, including 3.4 on the offensive end which also ranks 15th in Division II. He will be looking for his fourth consecutive game with at least 13 rebounds. 
• Alexander, became the Cardinals all-time leader in career minutes played last weekend, surpassing Kyle Fisher who played 3,603 minutes from 2006-2010. The fifth-year senior is also among the top in games played, starts, three point field goals and percentage and is closing in on the top-25 scoring chart. 
• The Cardinals are one of the best teams beyond the three point line on both ends of the floor. Offensively, the team is shooting better than 37% as a group, fourth best in the GLVC. However, they are event better defensively, coming in ranked second, holding opponents to just 33.2%. 
• Jewell has shown a knack for shot blocking as of late, rejecting 16 shots in the last three games, by five different players. Kobe McKinley had six, giving him 60 for his career and pushing him into 12th all-time. Tshiyoyo and Grant Stubbs added three apiece while Isaac Patterson had two and Jevaughn Ferguson, one. In conference play, the Cardinals are averaging a league leading 4.09 blocks per game.