(HANNIBAL, Mo., Feb. 5)—The McKendree University men's basketball team kept pace in the American Midwest Conference standings following an 88-49 victory Saturday at Hannibal-LaGrange University.
The Bearcats used a big second-half performance on both ends of the floor to pull away for the win. McKendree moved to 13-11 on the season and 7-2 in the AMC standings. The Bearcats are now a half-game behind both Park University and Columbia College for the top spot in the league standings following Columbia's 67-65 win over Park Saturday afternoon in Columbia, Mo. The Cougars and Pirates are now 7-1 in AMC play. McKendree will visit Columbia in a key AMC showdown Thursday at 7:30 p.m.
Senior forward Eric Hobbie (Vandalia, Ill./Vandalia) (Vandalia, Ill./Vandalia) collected his second straight double-double with 17 points and 14 rebounds to lead the way for the Bearcats. With his 17 points, Hobbie moved past Dennis Korte into 11th place on McKendree's all-time scoring list. Hobbie boosted his total to 1,737 points, jumping ahead of the 1,735 points Korte scored from 1966-70.
Senior guard Andy Wolff (Centralia, Ill./Metro-East Lutheran) (Centralia, Ill./Metro East Lutheran) and junior forward Sean Rakers (New Baden, IL/Wesclin) (New Baden, Ill./Wesclin) each added 13 points, while Wolff also dished out a team-leading five assists. Sophomore guard John Steppe (Effingham, IL/St. Anthony) (Effingham, Ill./St. Anthony) chipped in with 11 points in the effort for the Bearcats, and sophomore forward David Ruckman (Freeburg, IL/Freeburg) (Freeburg, Ill./Freeburg) pulled down 10 rebounds.
After building a 37-25 lead at the half, McKendree scored the first 11 points of the second half to take control. A basket and free throw by Wolff capped the run to give the Bearcats a 48-25 advantage with 17:11 to play. McKendree finished the contest just as strong, outscoring Hannibal-LaGrange 17-3 over the final five minutes of action in rolling to the win.
In the final 20 minutes of play, McKendree shot 62.1 percent from the field (18-of-29) while limiting the Trojans to just 28.1 percent (9-of-32) from the floor. The Bearcats also held a 42-34 edge on the boards and forced 20 turnovers by Hannibal-LaGrange. McKendree was able to complete the season sweep of the Trojans with Saturday's win as the Bearcats owned a 94-62 victory from the first meeting back on Jan. 8 in Lebanon.
The Bearcats trailed just twice at Hannibal-LaGrange, each time by one point. The contest was tied at 9-9 before McKendree grabbed the lead for good by scoring eight of nine points to build a 17-10 advantage with 10:40 left in the first half. The Trojans reeled off the next five points to pull within 17-15, but the Bearcats slowly built their lead to double digits, taking a 37-23 lead just before the half on a jumper by senior forward Brad Copelin (O'Fallon, Ill./O'Fallon) (O'Fallon, Ill./O'Fallon).
Chris Smith led Hannibal-LaGrange (6-15, 2-6 AMC) with 16 points and a game-high 13 rebounds. Brock Webber added 14 points, three assists and three steals for the Trojans.
