(LEBANON, Ill., Nov. 17)—The McKendree University men’s basketball team came up just short in a 92-85 loss Saturday at home to Union University in the final game of the 2007 McKendree Classic.

 

McKendree, ranked No. 23 in the NAIA Division I pre-season poll, led 82-79 with just under three minutes to play, but No. 19-rated Union closed the contest on a 13-3 run to pull out the victory. The Bearcats fall to 4-2 on the year and will return to action Tuesday at 7 p.m. with a home game against Greenville College.

 

Saturday’s game turned into a shootout between McKendree junior guard Eric Palm (Machesney Park, Ill./Harlem) (Machesney Park, Ill./Harlem) and Union guard Matt Neaville. Palm connected for a career-high 32 points, including 25 in the first half. Neaville edged out Palm for game-high scoring honors with 36 points, including eight three-point field goals. Neaville, who was selected as the Most Valuable Player of the McKendree Classic, leads NAIA Division I in scoring.

 

Palm went 10-of-20 from the field with four three-pointers. He was also a perfect 8-for-8 from the free throw line to head a list of four double-digit scorers for McKendre. Freshman forward Brad Copelin (O'Fallon, Ill./O'Fallon) (O’Fallon, Ill./O’Fallon) added 18 points, while freshman forward Eric Hobbie (Vandalia, Ill./Vandalia) (Vandalia, Ill./Vandalia) chipped in with 11 points, five rebounds and three blocked shots.

 

Sophomore forward Ken Detmer (Aviston, Ill./Breese Central) rounded out the list of double-figure scorers for the Bearcats with 10 points.

 

There were 12 ties and 19 lead changes in the contest, McKendree controlled the tempo early with an 11-4 run at the outset. Union battled back and took its first lead of the night, 33-30, on a three-pointer by Neaville with seven minutes left in the first half. The teams traded leads for the remainder of the half, with the visiting Bulldogs holding a 47-46 edge at the intermission.

 

McKendree regained the lead at 63-61 on a basket by Palm with 13:50 remaining. Union surged back in front before the Bearcats scored eight consecutive points to pull ahead 73-69 with 7:55 on the clock.

 

After Copelin hit a jumper in the lane to give McKendree an 82-79 lead, the Bulldogs started their game-ending run. Union scored 10 straight points to build an 89-82 advantage when Stone drained a three-pointer with 17 seconds left to help the Bearcats pull within four. Union hit three free throws in the final 13 seconds to ice the win.

 

Brian Lake added 22 points and nine rebounds for Union, while Tony Brown scored 12 points in a reserve role for the Bulldogs. Ryan Merriman pulled down a game-high 19 rebounds for Union, which held a 54-40 edge on the boards.

 

Palm was named to the All-Classic team and was joined by teammates Hobbie, Stone and freshman guard Andy Wolff (Centralia, Ill./Metro-East Lutheran) (Centralia, Ill./Metro-East Lutheran). Brown and Lake were also All-Classic selections. Rounding out the team were Bret Wilson and Brandon Bishop of Missouri Baptist University and Sinisa Korkut of Mid-Continent University.

 

In Saturday’s early game of the McKendree Classic, Mid-Continent defeated Missouri Baptist, 89-76.