LIBERTY, Mo. - The William Jewell men's basketball team continues the early Great Lakes Valley Conference schedule this weekend as they travel to crosstown rival Rockhurst before making the trip to Southwest Baptist on Saturday.

CARDINAL NOTES

• Jewell is coming off a critical 74-67 win over Illinois Springfield on Monday. The Prairie Stars were picked second in the GLVC preseason poll, just in front of the Cardinals who put together a second half rally to win, despite being shorthanded, with multiple key players out.    
• Jordan Jermain joined the top-10 scoring list last week and currently sits at No. 8 with 1,717 points, surpassing Bud Lathrop (1954-58). He now chases Weldon Stubbs (1990-94), father of his former teammate Grant Stubbs, who is seventh all-time at 1,751 points. 
• With key players out due to injury, others have needed to step up, none bigger than Jason Thirdkill, Jr. who has averaged 28 points and 9.5 rebounds over the last two games. The junior is sixth in the league with 17.4 points per game while shooting 56.4% from the field. Against Illinois Springfield, he scored 17 second half points to lead the Cardinal rally. 
• Another player who has played a critical role as of late is Luke Jordan who has averaged 11.5 points, 5 rebounds, and 1.3 assists over the last four games, while hitting 14 three point field goals. The senior comes into the week ranks 10th in the GLVC with two made threes per game. 
• Four players saw their roles increase on Monday and impressed in doing so. Kaleb Becker played a career high 14 minutes with a task of defending three-time All-GLVC performer Jack Weber. Additionally, Caden McGuire played a season high seven minutes, grabbing two steals and hitting a big second half three while Kanukayi Gudza and Kyle Scharbrough combined for 10 points. 
• This winter, the Cardinals were picked third in the GLVC preseason poll, their highest ever pick for the third straight season, and have received votes in the national polls in multiple weeks. 
• Chris McCabe has orchestrated one of the top turnarounds in the GLVC over the last five years. In his second season, the Cardinals were just 5-16 overall but since then he has led Jewell to over 55 wins during last three years, third most in the league to go with a conference title. 
• This winter McCabe beefed up the schedule with hopes of preparing his team for the postseason. The Cardinals will face off with 28 Division II opponents, one of only five schools in the GLVC to do so, including seven who are among the preseason national polls. 
• The William Jewell College men's basketball program is the second oldest in NCAA Division II, beginning in 1898 and trailing only West Chester by one year. With their win over Purdue Northwest on November 11, 2023 the Cardinals reached the 1,700 victory plateau, becoming the fifth program in Division II to do so, joining Central Washington, Northern State, McKendree and Central Missouri.