(JACKSON, Tenn., Nov. 29)—The McKendree University men's basketball team held on for a 67-66 victory Saturday over host Union University at the Union Thanksgiving Classic in Jackson, Tenn.
Senior guard Eric Palm (Machesney Park, Ill./Harlem) (Machesney Park, Ill./Harlem) netted a team-high 21 points, including 14 in the first half, to help lead the way for the Bearcats. The win gives McKendree, the No. 9-ranked team in NAIA Division I, a record of 8-4. The Bearcats also snapped a four-game losing streak to No. 12 Union and helped McKendree gain a season split with the Bulldogs. Union recorded an 83-80 overtime win against McKendree back on Nov. 15 in Lebanon.
The Bearcats trailed 66-65 with 19.5 seconds to play after Union's Antoine Joseph sank a pair of free throws. McKendree called a timeout to set up its last play, and eventually worked the ball around to Palm. He drove the right baseline and was fouled with 6.9 seconds on the clock. Palm, who was 11-of-12 at the free throw line on Saturday, sank both foul shots to give McKendree a one-point advantage.
Union's Tacuma Alexander took the inbounds pass and drove the length of the court. His runner in the lane was blocked by McKendree sophomore forward Brad Copelin (O'Fallon, Ill./O'Fallon) (O'Fallon, Ill./O'Fallon) at the buzzer, giving the Bearcats the road win.
In addition to his 21 points, Palm dished out a team-leading five assists for the Bearcats. Sophomore forward Eric Hobbie (Vandalia, Ill./Vandalia) (Vandalia, Ill./Vandalia) added 20 points for McKendree, while freshman forward Sean Rakers (New Baden, IL/Wesclin) (New Baden, Ill./Wesclin) chipped in with nine points and Copelin added eight points. Junior forward Ken Detmer (Aviston, Ill./Breese Central) grabbed a team-leading seven rebounds for McKendree, which was outrebounded 48-36 in the contest.
McKendree broke from the gates quickly, scoring the first nine points of the contest. Hobbie had the first five points on a three-pointer and long jumper before Copelin sank a pair of free throws. Rakers closed out the opening burst with a basket at the 14:53 mark. Union eventually pulled within 13-8 before the Bearcats reeled off eight consecutive points to take their largest lead of the half, 21-8, with 9:17 to go in the period.
Defensively, the Bearcats limited Union to just 22.6 percent shooting (7-of-31) in the first half. McKendree also held the Bulldogs' Matt Neaville, one of the top scorers in NAIA Division I, to just four points in the opening period, all of which came from the free throw line.
Union chipped away at its halftime deficit and took its first lead of the contest, 44-43, on a three-pointer by Neaville with 11:50 to play. McKendree answered right back with a three-pointer from freshman guard Karrington Pettiford (Florissant, MO/Christian Brothers) (Florissant, Mo./Christian Brothers) but the Bulldogs edged back in front to regain a 46-44 advantage.
After McKendree battled back and knotted the score at 50-50, a three-pointer by Neaville pushed Union back in front 53-50 with 7:56 to play. That sparked a 7-0 run to give the Bulldogs a 57-50 advantage with just under six minutes on the clock. Consecutive lay-ups by Rakers and Copelin slashed the margin to 57-54.
The teams battled down the stretch, and a three-pointer by Hobbie with 2:11 left gave McKendree a 63-62 lead. Neaville answered on Union's next trip down the floor with an offensive rebound and putback to put the Bulldogs back in front, 64-63. Copelin then scored on driving lay-up following a pass from sophomore guard Andy Wolff (Centralia, Ill./Metro-East Lutheran) (Centralia, Ill./Metro-East Lutheran) to edge the Bearcats back in front, 65-64, at the 1:21 mark.
Neaville led Union (6-2) with 19 points as he scored 15 points in the second half. Greg Truvillion and Brian Lake each posted 11 points, as Lake pulled down a game-high 11 rebounds before fouling out late in the contest.
With his 21 points against Union, Palm slipped past Bob Stone for 15th place on the Bearcats' all-time scoring list. Palm now has 1,598 career points and stands just two points behind Dmitri Joe for 14th place on the scoring chart.
-McK-
