(LEBANON, Ill., Feb. 28)—The McKendree College men’s basketball team battled to a 72-68 victory Wednesday at home against Harris-Stowe State University in the quarterfinal round of the American Midwest Conference Tournament.

 

All five starters scored in double figures as the Bearcats held on down the stretch from the free throw line. McKendree made seven foul shots in the final 1:05 to advance to the AMC semifinals on Friday. The Bearcats, who are the No. 2 seed in the conference tournament, move to 21-10 overall and advance to the AMC semifinals to host No. 3 Columbia College, who escaped with an 81-73 overtime win in another quarterfinal game against Williams Baptist College.

 

Senior forward Mark Stovall (St. Louis, Mo./Jennings) (St. Louis, Mo./Jennings) led McKendree with 18 points, while junior guard T.J. Stone (Hendersonville, Tenn./People's Academy) (Hendersonville, Tenn./People’s Academy) added 13 points.

 

In a game that featured 21 lead changes and nine ties, McKendree pulled out to a 40-36 lead early in the second half before Harris-Stowe charged back. The Hornets outscored the Bearcats 10-4 over the next four minutes to grab a 46-44 lead. The lead switched hands five more times when Harris-Stowe seized its final lead of the contest, 52-51, on a pair of free throws by Melvin Martin with 6:20 to go.

 

Sophomore forward Nick Livas (Cary, Ill./Prairie Ridge) (Cary, Ill./Prairie Ridge) and Stovall each hit a pair of free throws to give McKendree the lead for good, 55-52. The Hornets battled back to within 63-62 on a three-pointer by Chuck Walls with 2:36 remaining, but Livas scored on a jumper in the lane on the Bearcats’ next possession to extend the margin back to three points. McKendree then pulled away at the line in the final minute.

 

Livas finished with 12 points and a game-high 11 rebounds for the Bearcats, while sophomore guard Eric Palm (Machesney Park, Ill./Harlem) (Machesney Park, Ill./Harlem) and senior forward Mike Strobbe (Ferguson, Mo./McCluer) (Ferguson, Mo./McCluer) each chipped in with 10 points.

 

Phillip Stewart scored a game-high 23 points with seven rebounds to lead Harris-Stowe, which closes its season with a record of 6-25. Roderick Coleman posted 11 points and Aaron Jones grabbed a team-leading nine rebounds for the Hornets.

 

McKendree and Columbia split their regular season series, with each team winning on the road. The Cougars took a 96-92 victory back on Jan. 13 in Lebanon before the Bearcats returned the favor with an 87-68 victory Feb. 8 in Columbia, Mo.