(LEBANON, Ill., Nov. 25)—The McKendree University men's basketball team registered a 75-63 non-conference victory Tuesday at home against Brescia University.
Five Bearcat players, including four starters, scored in double figures in the win. McKendree, the No. 9 team in the NAIA Division I pre-season poll, moves to 7-3 overall. The Bearcats will head south for the holiday weekend to Jackson, Tenn., to participate in the Union University Thanksgiving Classic. McKendree will take on Freed-Hardeman University Friday at 6 p.m., before meeting host Union University in the final game of the Classic Saturday at 4 p.m.
Sophomore forward Brad Copelin (O'Fallon, Ill./O'Fallon) (O'Fallon, Ill./O'Fallon) led the Bearcats in the scoring column with 17 points, while senior guard Eric Palm (Machesney Park, Ill./Harlem) (Machesney Park, Ill./Harlem) connected for 15 points. Palm jumped three spots on the McKendree University all-time scoring list on Tuesday into 17th place. Palm surpassed Brad Fischer (1,542 points), Darron Randle (1,553 points) and Steve Davis (1,554 points) on the Bearcats' scoring chart.
Junior forward Ken Detmer (Aviston, Ill./Breese Central) chipped in with 14 points and six rebounds, while sophomore forward Eric Hobbie (Vandalia, Ill./Vandalia) (Vandalia, Ill./Vandalia) and freshman forward Sean Rakers (New Baden, IL/Wesclin) (New Baden, Ill./Wesclin) each posted 10 points. Hobbie also pulled down a team-leading 10 rebounds against Brescia.
In the first half, McKendree limited Brescia (3-4) to just 30 percent shooting but led only 29-27 at the intermission. McKendree opened the second half by scoring the first nine points of the second half to open up a 38-27 lead with 17:28 remaining. Brescia battled back to within seven points on two different occasions in the period, the last coming at 45-38 midway through the period, but the host Bearcats were able to hold on down the stretch.
Hobbie and sophomore guard Andy Wolff (Centralia, Ill./Metro-East Lutheran) (Centralia, Ill./Metro-East Lutheran) each dished out a team-high four assists, while freshman guard Karrington Pettiford (Florissant, MO/Christian Brothers) (Florissant, Mo./Christian Brothers) collected a career-best five steals for McKendree.
Anthony Ingram and Andrew Howard each scored 21 points to lead Brescia. Ingram also grabbed a game-high 14 rebounds for the visiting Bearcats.
-McK-
