(LEBANON, Ill., Feb. 11)—Junior forward Eric Hobbie (Vandalia, Ill./Vandalia) (Vandalia, Ill./Vandalia) led all scorers with 16 points to lead the McKendree University men's basketball team to a 71-41 victory Thursday at home against Columbia College.
Senior forward Kenny Detmer (Aviston, Ill./Breese Central) (Aviston, Ill./Breese Central) came off the bench to add 13 points and five rebounds, while sophomore forward Sean Rakers (New Baden, IL/Wesclin) (New Baden, Ill./Wesclin) chipped in with 11 points as the Bearcats registered their 11th consecutive victory. McKendree, the No. 7-ranked team in NAIA Division I, improves to 20-5 overall. This is the 20th time in the last 21 years that the Bearcats have reached the 20-win mark.
Thursday's victory also keeps McKendree atop the American Midwest Conference standings at 9-0. The Bearcats have won 27 straight AMC regular-season contests dating back to the 2007-08 campaign. McKendree also posted its ninth win in the last 10 meetings between the two schools, and held Columbia to its lowest point total in the all-time series, which spans 53 games.
McKendree turned up the defensive pressure against Columbia, especially in the first half. The Bearcats held the Cougars without a point for nearly seven minutes to start the game while building a 9-0 lead. McKendree eventually pushed the margin to 24-9 by scoring nine consecutive points before taking its largest lead of the period, 27-11, on a free throw by Detmer with 3:05 left before intermission.
Columbia (9-17, 3-7 AMC) battled back and trimmed its deficit to 29-18 before Hobbie drained a 25-footer just before the first half buzzer sounded to give the Bearcats a 32-18 lead at the half.
Rakers scored five points during a 12-2 run that helped McKendree grow its lead to 51-23 with just over 11 minutes remaining. The Bearcats led by as many as 32 points in cruising to the victory. For the game, McKendree held Columbia to just 31.8 percent shooting (14-of-44). Meanwhile, McKendree connected on 50.9 percent of its shots (27-of-53) from the floor.
Josh Davis and Greg Stegeman each scored 10 points to pace Columbia. Stegeman also pulled down a game-high 10 rebounds for the Cougars.
McKendree will return to action Saturday with an AMC contest at Missouri Baptist University. Tip-off is set for 4 p.m. at Muncy Gymnasium in St. Louis.
-McK-
