(ST. LOUIS, Mo., Jan. 15)—The McKendree University men's basketball team extended its win streak to eight consecutive games with a 76-62 win Thursday at Harris-Stowe State University.
Senior guard Eric Palm (Machesney Park, Ill./Harlem) (Machesney Park, Ill./Harlem) poured in a game-high 26 points to lead the Bearcats to the victory. McKendree, ranked No. 9 in the latest NAIA Division I poll, improves to 15-4 overall and remains undefeated in American Midwest Conference play at 3-0. Harris-Stowe slips to 4-12 overall and 0-3 in the AMC.
Junior forward Ken Detmer (Aviston, Ill./Breese Central) added a season-high 18 points, while sophomore forward Eric Hobbie (Vandalia, Ill./Vandalia) (Vandalia, Ill./Vandalia) scored 11 of his 13 points in the second half for the Bearcats. Detmer also pulled down a team-leading eight rebounds for McKendree, which held a 41-29 edge on the boards.
McKendree was able to build a double-digit lead in the first half before Harris-Stowe battled back and pulled to within 27-26 with just over a minute to play in the period. Palm answered for McKendree by hitting a pair of three-pointers in the final 65 seconds of play to give the Bearcats a 33-26 lead at the intermission.
The Bearcats were able to pull away in the second half, thanks in part to a 17-2 run that extended their lead to 57-36 with just over 11 minutes on the clock. The host Hornets tried to chip away at the deficit and pulled to within 69-59 at the three-minute mark, but a spurt of six consecutive points helped McKendree seal the win.
With his 26 points, Palm now has 1,727 career points at McKendree. He needs nine points to move into the top 10 on the Bearcats' all-time scoring list. Dennis Korte currently sits in 10th place with 1,735 points.
McKendree head coach Harry Statham, the all-time wins leader in men's college basketball history, picked up career victory No. 980 on Thursday. Statham has now led the Bearcats to the 15-win mark for the 42nd consecutive season.
Terry Hollins scored a team-high 19 points to lead Harris-Stowe, while Brandon Davis connected for 15 points and Stacy Sorrell had 10 for the Hornets. Uros Vukovic grabbed a team-best seven rebounds for Harris-Stowe.
McKendree will return to action Tuesday with a key AMC contest at Columbia College. Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m. in Columbia, Mo.
-McK-
