Box Score
BOX SCORE

(ST. LOUIS, Mo., Dec. 10)—The McKendree University men's basketball team held leads in each half at the University of Missouri-St. Louis, but the Bearcats could not hold off the Tritons in a 74-64 loss Saturday afternoon in St. Louis.
 
UMSL outscored McKendree 23-8 over the final 6:25 of play to rally for the victory. The Bearcats slip to 7-6 overall and will look to rebound with a home game Tuesday against Olivet Nazarene University. Tip-off of the contest has been moved up one hour to 6 p.m. at the Harry M. Statham Sports Center.
 
Senior forward Sean Rakers (New Baden, IL/Wesclin) (New Baden, Ill./Wesclin) registered his first double-double of the 2011-12 with a team-leading 16 points and a game-high 10 rebounds for McKendree. Junior guard John Steppe (Effingham, IL/St. Anthony) (Effingham, Ill./St. Anthony) and sophomore forward Garrett Gaffner (Breese, IL/Breese Central) (Breese, Ill./Breese Central) each connected for 13 points, with all of Steppe's points coming in the second half. Junior forward David Ruckman (Freeburg, IL/Freeburg) (Freeburg, Ill./Freeburg) added 12 points for the Bearcats.
 
McKendree led for most of the first half. The Bearcats reeled off nine consecutive points to take a 19-12 advantage midway through the period. McKendree eventually stretched the margin to 25-17 following a jumper in the lane by Gaffner with 5:18 left in the half.
 
However, UMSL held the Bearcats without a point for the final 5:18, ending the half with an 11-0 run to take a 28-25 lead into the locker room. McKendree missed its final six shots of the half.
 
The Tritons quickly pushed its lead to seven points in the early stages of the second half before McKendree rallied again. A 10-2 run helped the Bearcats regain a 47-45 lead with 10:36 to play. Steppe accounted for six of McKendree's points during the spurt, including a three-pointer that knotted the contest at 45-45.
 
The teams traded leads before a short jumper from Rakers and another three-pointer from Steppe enabled McKendree to take a 56-51 lead with 6:25 on the clock. UMSL responded by scoring the next six points to take the lead for good, 59-56, just over three minutes later. A lay-up by Gaffner helped McKendree cut the deficit back to one point, but the Tritons answered with a 6-0 run to put the game out of reach.
 
Charlie Woods scored a game-high 20 points to lead UMSL, while Joshua Hightower chipped in with 19 points for the Tritons, who improved to 5-3 and notched their fourth consecutive win.
 
Saturday's meeting marked the first time in more nearly 32 years that the Tritons and Bearcats met on the basketball court. Back on Jan. 22, 1980, UMSL outlasted McKendree 95-88.