(LEBANON, Ill., March 5)—The McKendree University men's basketball team extended its win streak to 20 games with a 79-50 victory against Harris-Stowe State University in the quarterfinal round of the American Midwest Conference Tournament Thursday at the Melvin Price Convocation Center.
McKendree, the top seed and defending AMC Tournament champion, had five players score in double figures en route to the win. The Bearcats, ranked No. 5 in NAIA Division I, move to 27-4 overall and will play host to fourth-seeded Hannibal-LaGrange College in Saturday's semifinal round. Tip-off is set for 4 p.m.
Senior guard Eric Palm (Machesney Park, Ill./Harlem) (Machesney Park, Ill./Harlem) led a balanced attack for McKendree with 16 points, while sophomore forward Eric Hobbie (Vandalia, Ill./Vandalia) (Vandalia, Ill./Vandalia) chipped in with 14 points. Freshman forward Sean Rakers (New Baden, IL/Wesclin) (New Baden, Ill./Wesclin) came off the bench to post 12 points with six rebounds and a team-high three blocks, and sophomore forward Brad Copelin (O'Fallon, Ill./O'Fallon) (O'Fallon, Ill./O'Fallon) connected for 11 points.
Junior forward Ken Detmer (Aviston, Ill./Breese Central) registered a double-double for the Bearcats with 10 points and a game-high 10 rebounds. The 6-7 Detmer also drained his first career three-point field goal in the closing minutes. Sophomore guard Andy Wolff (Centralia, Ill./Metro-East Lutheran) (Centralia, Ill./Metro-East Lutheran) dished out a game-high five assists for McKendree.
Thursday's win was also the 300th for McKendree at the Melvin Price Convocation Center. The Bearcats have a record of 300-50 home record since the facility opened for the 1988-89 season.
Harris-Stowe (8-22) led in the first few moments before McKendree used a 16-4 run to grab the lead for good, 18-8, with 12:23 left in the first half. Hobbie hit consecutive three-pointers during the stretch, while Palm added five points. The Bearcats stretched the margin to as many as 17 points before taking a 42-28 lead into the locker room. McKendree shot nearly 54 percent from the field in the opening 20 minutes of play.
McKendree turned to its defense to seal the victory in the second half. The Bearcats limited Harris-Stowe to just 33.3 percent shooting in the period and forced 14 turnovers by the Hornets.
Brandon Davis led the way for Harris-Stowe with 12 points as Stacy Sorrell netted 10 points. Uros Vukovic pulled down a team-leading eight rebounds for the Hornets.
McKendree defeated Hannibal-LaGrange twice during the regular season. The Bearcats outlasted the Trojans on Jan. 24 in Hannibal, Mo., 68-65, before posting a 77-64 victory on Feb. 21 at the Melvin Price Convocation Center. McKendree is 3-1 all-time against Hannibal-LaGrange in AMC Tournament play.
-McK-
