(COLUMBUS, Ohio, Dec. 30)—The McKendree University men's basketball team grabbed its fifth consecutive win with a 63-59 victory Tuesday at Ohio Dominican University.

The Bearcats nearly squandered a 14-point, second-half lead, but a pair of free throws by senior guard Eric Palm (Machesney Park, Ill./Harlem) (Machesney Park, Ill./Harlem) with 14.6 seconds to play helped seal the win. Palm finished with a game-high 20 points and four assists as McKendree, the No. 12 team in NAIA Division I, improved to 12-4 on the year.

Sophomore forward Brad Copelin (O'Fallon, Ill./O'Fallon) (O'Fallon, Ill./O'Fallon) chipped in with 14 points, while freshman guard Karrington Pettiford (Florissant, MO/Christian Brothers) (Florissant, Mo./Christian Brothers) matched a season-high with nine points for the Bearcats. Junior forward Ken Detmer (Aviston, Ill./Breese Central) also equaled a season-best with a game-best 11 rebounds for McKendree.

The Bearcats led from start to finish, scoring the first eight points of the contest. McKendree built a 20-9 lead midway through the first half and led 30-23 at the intermission. Defensively, the Bearcats limited Ohio Dominican to just 25 percent shooting from the field in the opening 20 minutes of play.

With 8:03 to play, freshman forward Sean Rakers (New Baden, IL/Wesclin) (New Baden, Ill./Wesclin) sank a free throw to give McKendree a 53-39 advantage. Ohio Dominican started to chip away at the deficit, starting with a 7-0 run to pull within 53-46 at the 4:54 mark. The Panthers eventually pulled to within 61-59 on a jumper in the lane by Jim McCurdy.

Palm was fouled on the inbounds play, and sank his two free throws with 14.6 seconds on the clock to push McKendree back in front by four. Ohio Dominican turned the ball over on its final possession, and the Bearcats were able to run out the clock to preserve the victory.

Donald Suel led Ohio Dominican (7-7) with 17 points and eight rebounds, while Adriene Rodriguez connected for 14 points. The Panthers have lost three consecutive games.

Tuesday's win gives McKendree a season sweep of Ohio Dominican in the first-ever meetings between the two schools. The Bearcats rallied for an 88-86 victory against the Panthers back on Nov. 7 in Lebanon.

McKendree will open up defense of its American Midwest Conference championship on Thursday, Jan. 8 at home against William Woods University. Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m. at the Melvin Price Convocation Center.

-McK-