(ST. LOUIS, Mo., Nov. 30)—The McKendree College men’s basketball team suffered a 77-68 setback Wednesday in non-conference play at Maryville University.
The Saints held a 50-10 edge in bench scoring as they held on down the stretch for the victory. McKendree drops its second game in a row to fall to 4-7 on the year. The Bearcats will be in Davenport, Iowa, this weekend for the St. Ambrose University/Pepsi Challenge. McKendree will face Ashford University Friday at 5:30 p.m., before taking on host St. Ambrose Saturday at 4 p.m.
At Maryville, McKendree grabbed an early lead before the Saints roared back with a 12-4 run to take a 17-12 lead with 13:47 left in the first half. The Bearcats responded with an 11-2 spurt, which ended on a driving layup by senior guard Chris Shields (Maywood, Ill./Proviso East) (Maywood, Ill./Proviso East) to help McKendree regain the lead at 23-19. The teams traded leads until the final three minutes of the period. Maryville scored the final 11 points of the half to take a 41-33 lead at the intermission.
The Saints extended their lead to as many as 13 points before McKendree battled back. The Bearcats made six free throws sandwiched around a three-pointer by senior guard/forward Bryant Lyles (Hazelwood, Mo./Hazelwood West) (Hazelwood, Mo./Hazelwood West) as part of a 9-2 run to cut the deficit to 69-66 with 2:39 remaining. However, Ben Hebl buried a three-pointer on Maryville’s next possession, and the Saints made four free throws in the final 39 seconds to seal the win.
Senior guard Brad Fischer (Breese, Ill./Breese Central) (Breese, Ill./Breese Central) led the Bearcats with a game-high 21 points. Fischer pushed his career scoring total at McKendree to 1,225 points to move into 27th place on the Bearcats’ all-time list. Junior forward Mike Strobbe (Ferguson, Mo./McCluer) (Ferguson, Mo./McCluer) connected for 18 points, while senior forward Aaron Bond (Kansas City, Mo./Paseo Academy) (Kansas City, Mo./Paseo Academy) chipped in with 10 points. Fischer and Bond each had a team-leading nine rebounds for the Bearcats, while Shields dished out a season-best seven assists.
Hebl paced Maryville (3-3) with 19 points in a reserve role. Matt Regan added 18 points off the bench for the Saints, while Ryan Klein posted 12 points. Stephen Bash, who scored 10 points for Maryville, grabbed a team-high 11 rebounds.
-McK-
