(LEBANON, Ill., Feb. 16)—Freshman forward Eric Hobbie (Vandalia, Ill./Vandalia) (Vandalia, Ill./Vandalia) poured in a career-high 28 points to lead the McKendree University men’s basketball team to a 79-54 victory Saturday at home against Harris-Stowe State University.

 

Hobbie scored 17 of his points in the first half as the Bearcats built a 45-23 halftime lead. He also had eight rebounds and five assists in the effort. McKendree, ranked No. 14 in NAIA Division I, improves to 21-6 on the year. The Bearcats maintain a one-game lead in the American Midwest Conference standings at 11-1. McKendree a game in front of Columbia College in league play, and the two teams will square off Thursday in Columbia, Mo. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m.

 

Sophomore forward Ken Detmer (Aviston, Ill./Breese Central) added 16 points and nine rebounds for McKendree, while junior guard Eric Palm (Machesney Park, Ill./Harlem) (Machesney Park, Ill./Harlem) posted 15 points and a career-high 10 rebounds. Freshman forward Brad Copelin (O'Fallon, Ill./O'Fallon) (O’Fallon, Ill./O’Fallon) chipped in with 11 points, and freshman guard Andy Wolff (Centralia, Ill./Metro-East Lutheran) (Centralia, Ill./Metro-East Lutheran) had a team-leading six assists for the Bearcats.

 

McKendree built a 12-6 lead through the first nine minutes of play before Hobbie ignited both the crowd and the Bearcats’ offense. Wolff missed a three-pointer from the wing when Hobbie came flying in from the left side. Hobbie grabbed the miss behind his head and slammed home the rebound with his right hand, giving McKendree a 14-6 advantage.

 

Hobbie’s rebound and dunk sparked a 14-2 run which put the Bearcats ahead 26-8 at the 7;33 mark. Hobbie had six points during the spurt for McKendree.

 

The Bearcats shot 52.8 percent from the field in building its 22-point halftime advantage. McKendree then stretched the margin to 51-23 by scoring the first six points of the second half.

 

Harris-Stowe (10-18, 4-8 AMC) started to chip away at the deficit and eventually pulled to within 65-51 on a three-pointer by Mack Caldwell with 4:34 to play. But McKendree closed the contest on a 14-3 run to pull away for the victory.

 

Caldwell led the Hornets with 13 points, while Theo Boykin added 10 points. Phillip Stewart pulled down a game-high 12 rebounds for Harris-Stowe. The win gave McKendree a season sweep of Harris-Stowe. Back on Jan. 24 in St. Louis, McKendree registered a 78-61 win over the Hornets.