(LEBANON, Ill., Jan. 26)—The McKendree University men’s basketball team solidified its lead in the American Midwest Conference standings with a 79-50 victory Saturday at home against Columbia College.

 

McKendree, the No. 15 team in NAIA Division I, opened the second half on a 24-6 run and never looked back to pull away from No. 21-ranked Columbia. The Bearcats have won their last six games to improve to 16-5 overall and 6-0 in AMC play. McKendree now has a two-game lead in the conference standings as Columbia slips to 16-5 on the year and 4-2 in league play.

 

Senior guard T.J. Stone (Hendersonville, Tenn./People's Academy) (Hendersonville, Tenn./People’s Academy) and sophomore forward Ken Detmer (Aviston, Ill./Breese Central) each scored a team-high 16 points to lead the way for McKendree. Detmer notched his third consecutive double-double as he pulled down a game-high 10 rebounds. Junior guard Eric Palm (Machesney Park, Ill./Harlem) (Machesney Park, Ill./Harlem) contributed 12 points and four assists, while senior guard Trent Kull (Altamont, Ill./Altamont) (Altamont, Ill./Altamont) came off the bench to post 11 points.

 

In addition to their fast second half start, the Bearcats used a strong defensive effort to post their third consecutive victory over Columbia. McKendree limited the Cougars to 27.9 percent shooting (17-of-61) from the field, including 1-for-12 from three-point range.

 

McKendree led for most of the first half, holding its largest advantage at the half at 36-26. Stone hit a three-pointer on the Bearcats’ first possession of the second half before Columbia answered with a lay-up from Miroslav Lukic. McKendree then scored the next nine points to build a 48-28 lead with 15:48 to play. Hobbie had six of the points during the run, including an alley-oop dunk off a pass from Palm.

 

The Bearcats used another 9-0 run later in the period to extend its lead to 60-32 at the 11:58 mark. McKendree led by as many as 35 points in the half in cruising to the win. The Bearcats have now won 11 of 12 home games this season at the Melvin Price Convocation Center. A season-high crowd of 1,027 witnessed the McKendree victory on Alumni Appreciation Day.

 

Brett Hoskins led Columbia with 14 points, while Trae Hall added 12 points.