LIBERTY, Mo. - The William Jewell men's basketball team returns to the postseason for the second consecutive year as the No. 3 seed in the Great Lakes Valley Conference Tournament. They will take on six-seed McKendree in their third meeting with the Bearcats this year. The game will be available via pay-per-view on the GLVC Sports Network.

THE SERIES
Jewell is 7-7 all-time against the Bearcats, having snapped a four-game skid back in November. McKendree took the last meeting 68-64 in early February.  

CARDINAL NOTES

• The Cardinals are coming off a gritty 66-64 win over Truman State in the regular season finale. Jewell rallied from down as many as 11 in the second half to grab a late lead on a three from Grant Stubbs with under a minute to go. 
• Jordan Jermain will surpass a new milestone with his next bucket. Sitting on 999 career points, he is entering the postseason averaging a team best 15.2 points per game, while shooting nearly 41% from long range. Only a junior, he is already seventh all-time in career three point field goals with 166. 
• Kobe McKinley seems to be peaking at just the right time for the Cardinals, posting back-to-back 20-point outings last weekend while shooting 65% fro the floor. The senior has averaged 15.2 points per game since January 28. 
• The Cardinals enter the postseason with the top rated defense in the league. Jewell allowed opponents just 64 points per game with a 41% field goal percentage and just 32% from the three point line. In the month of February, the Cards have been especially stiffling, not allowing an opponent to score more 68 just once and held two teams to under 55. Jewell will have to slow the league's top scorer in McKendree's Bryson Bultman and his 18.3 points per game in GLVC play. 
• The top two rebounding teams will go head-to-head on Friday as McKendree enters with an average of 27.5 per game and the Cardinals following closely behind at 26.6. Heri Tshiyoyo leads all GLVC players with 8.6 per game in conference play, including 56 on the offensive end. 
• The No. 3 seed is the highest Jewell has earned since joining the league in 2011-2012. This will be their fifth trip to the postseason in the GLVC era, after advancing to the semifinals last year, defeating Lindenwood and Southwest Baptist. 
• The Jewell bench will play a pivotal role this week. In wins this season, the bench as averaged better than 14 points, 6.8 rebounds an two assists, compared to just 9.2 points, 5 rebounds and 1.8 assists in losses. Eli Wingert is coming off a career high 12 point performance against Truman while Isaac Patterson, Robbie Hanson, Jevaughn Ferguson and Luke Jordan have all played key roles at different times throughout the regular season.
• Four William Jewell players have earned various honors among the Great Lakes Valley Conference men's basketball postseason awards. Jordan Jermain received All-GLVC First Team recognition while Mason Alexander was listed on the Second Team. Additionally, Kobe McKinley and Heri Tshiyoyo each earned a spot on the GLVC All-Defensive Team.