(LEBANON, Ill., Dec. 4)—Freshman forward Garrett Gaffner (Breese, IL/Breese Central) (Breese, Ill./Breese Central) played the role of hero as the McKendree University men's basketball team outlasted Harris-Stowe State University on Saturday in the final game of the McKendree Classic, 64-62.
Gaffner blocked a potential game-tying lay-up attempt by Harris-Stowe's Donald Davis just before the final buzzer to give the Bearcats their second win in as many nights at the Melvin Price Convocation Center. McKendree, the No. 8 team in the NAIA Division I pre-season poll, moves to 5-8 overall. The Bearcats will be in Bourbonnais, Ill., on Tuesday for a non-conference game at Olivet Nazarene University. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m.
Junior guard Karrington Pettiford (Florissant, MO/Christian Brothers) (Florissant, Mo./Hazelwood Central) led all scorers with 23 points for McKendree, while junior forward Sean Rakers (New Baden, IL/Wesclin) (New Baden, Ill./Wesclin) added 12 first-half points along with a team-high nine rebounds. Senior forward Brad Copelin (O'Fallon, Ill./O'Fallon) (O'Fallon, Ill./O'Fallon) posted 10 opints and five rebounds for the Bearcats.
McKendree led 63-60 when the Hornets' Terry Hollins scored on a lay-up with 2:05 left to bring Harris-Stowe within a point. The Bearcats missed a pair of three-pointers on their next possession before Pettiford was fouled with 42 seconds left. Pettiford missed both free throw attempts, and Harris-Stowe's Corey Wright grabbed the rebounds following the second miss.
The Hornets worked the ball to Davis, who missed a lay-up attempt with 15 seconds on the clock. Harris-Stowe claimed the offensive rebound and got the ball to Hollins, who drove the lane. Sophomore guard John Steppe (Effingham, IL/St. Anthony) (Effingham, Ill./St. Anthony) stepped in front of Hollins to draw a charge with seven seconds remaining.
Following a timeout, McKendree inbounded and passed to senior guard Andy Wolff (Centralia, Ill./Metro-East Lutheran), who was fouled with five seconds to play. He hit one of two free throws to extend the lead to 64-62. Harris-Stowe quickly pushed the ball upcourt to Davis, who drove the lane. Gaffner blocked Davis' shot off the glass, and Steppe grabbed the rebound as the final buzzer sounded.
In the first half, McKendree was able to build a slight lead before using a 9-3 run to take its largest lead of the period, 28-19, with 3:07 left until intermission. Pettiford had the final five points of the run thanks to a trio of technical fouls called on the Harris-Stowe bench. The Bearcats took a 32-25 lead into the locker room.
The game tightened up in the second half with 10 ties and 10 lead changes. Harris-Stowe (3-8) held its final lead at 57-56 after Hollins made two free throws with 4:32 to play.
Hollins led the Hornets with 21 points, while Kevin Kramer added 13 points and five rebounds while Davis netted 12 points.
After the contest, Rakers was named to the All-Tournament team for the McKendree Classic, and was joined on the squad by Copelin, Steppe and Pettiford. Hollins and Robert Mumphard represented Harris-Stowe on the All-Tournament team.
