(LEBANON, Ill., March 10)—The McKendree University men's basketball team saw its NAIA-best 21-game win streak come to an end Tuesday with a 65-54 loss to visiting Columbia College in the championship game of the 2009 American Midwest Conference Tournament.
Columbia, ranked No. 23 in NAIA Division I, shot a blistering 57.4 percent (27-of-47) from the field to snap a seven-game losing streak against the No. 4-ranked Bearcats. With the win, Columbia jumps to 26-7 and earns the AMC's automatic bid to the NAIA Division I Men's Basketball National Championship, which will be held March 18-24 in Kansas City, Mo.
McKendree slips to 28-5 on the year and will receive an at-large bid to the national tournament. Tuesday's loss was the first for the Bearcats since an 80-79 setback on Nov. 28 in Jackson, Tenn., against Freed-Hardeman University.
Sophomore forward Eric Hobbie (Vandalia, Ill./Vandalia) (Vandalia, Ill./Vandalia) led McKendree with 15 points, while sophomore forward Brad Copelin (O'Fallon, Ill./O'Fallon) (O'Fallon, Ill./O'Fallon) recorded 12 points, four rebounds and three assists. Senior guard Eric Palm (Machesney Park, Ill./Harlem) (Machesney Park, Ill./Harlem), playing in his final home game for the Bearcats, had 10 points before fouling out late in the second half. Palm currently sits at 1,982 points and is in seventh place on McKendree's all-time scoring list.
Sean Rakers (New Baden, IL/Wesclin) contributed eight points and a team-leading eight rebounds for the Bearcats. Sophomore guard Andy Wolff (Centralia, Ill./Metro-East Lutheran) (Centralia, Ill./Metro-East Lutheran) dished out four assists in the contest for McKendree.
Columbia led from start to finish, controlling the tempo and building a 14-8 lead midway through the first half. The Cougars eventually stretched the margin to as many as nine points at three different points in the period before McKendree used three free throws from Palm inside the final minute to pull within 30-24 at the half.
The Bearcats trimmed the deficit to 34-30 on a lay-up by Copelin with 17:23 remaining, but Columbia reeled off the next six points to take its first double-digit lead of the night, 40-30, at the 15:57 mark. The Cougars extended the lead to 16 points before McKendree made one final run. A basket and free throw by Copelin capped a 12-3 run that brought the Bearcats within 56-49 with just 2:22 to play. But the Cougars held on down the stretch and earned their first AMC Tournament championship since 2004.
Jason Ellis led a balanced attack for Columbia with 13 points, while Brett Hoskins chipped in with 12 points.
McKendree will now await the final NAIA Division I coaches' poll and release of the 32 national tournament qualifiers on Wednesday.
-McK-
