(LEBANON, Ill., March 7)—For the fifth consecutive year, the McKendree University men's basketball team will be playing for the American Midwest Conference Tournament championship.
The Bearcats outscored Hannibal-LaGrange College 32-8 in the first 12 minutes of play on their way to a 79-63 victory Saturday at the Melvin Price Convocation Center. McKendree, the No. 5-ranked team in NAIA Division I, won its 21st straight game to move to 28-4 on the year.
McKendree, the top seed in this year's AMC Tournament, will play host to second-seeded Columbia College for the league championship on Tuesday. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. Ticket prices are $6 for reserved seats, $5 for general admission and $2 for students. Columbia reached the AMC championship game by defeating the University of Illinois at Springfield in Saturday's other semifinal contest, 84-79.
Sophomore forward Eric Hobbie (Vandalia, Ill./Vandalia) (Vandalia, Ill./Vandalia) recorded game-high totals of 19 points and 10 rebounds to lead McKendree to its 14th home victory in 15 outings this season. Sophomore guard Andy Wolff (Centralia, Ill./Metro-East Lutheran) (Centralia, Ill./Metro-East Lutheran) added 14 points, while senior guard Eric Palm (Machesney Park, Ill./Harlem) (Machesney Park, Ill./Harlem) and sophomore forward Brad Copelin (O'Fallon, Ill./O'Fallon) (O'Fallon, Ill./O'Fallon) each chipped in with 13 points.
Junior forward Ken Detmer (Aviston, Ill./Breese Central) hauled in nine rebounds for McKendree, which outrebounded Hannibal-LaGrange by a margin of 50-30.
McKendree scored the first nine points of the contest on its way to a 23-2 run in the first nine minutes of play. The Bearcats led by as many as 25 points in the first half before Hannibal-LaGrange (13-19) started to chip away at the deficit. The Trojans closed the period on a 10-2 run to rally within 446-32 at the half.
The Bearcats were able to maintain a double-digit lead for most of the second half. The closest Hannibal-LaGrange would come was at 61-52 on a lay-up by Matt Ayers with just over eight minutes remaining. Ayers' basket capped a 9-1 run for the Trojans.
Adam Potts and Chad Reading led a balanced scoring attack for Hannibal-LaGrange with 12 points each. Darrell Johnson scored all 11 of his points in the first half, while Ayers finished with 10 points.
Tuesday's game will mark the 10th consecutive year that McKendree and Columbia will meet in AMC Tournament play. The Bearcats hold a 6-3 advantage during that time, and McKendree has won each of the last four meetings. This will be McKendree's 14th appearance in the AMC Tournament title game, and the Bearcats hold a 5-8 mark in those contests.
-McK-
