(KANSAS CITY, Mo., March 17)—The McKendree University men's basketball team posted a 75-62 victory over No. 10-seeded Southern Nazarene University on Thursday in the first round of the NAIA Division I Men's Basketball National Championship at Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City.
Senior forward Eric Hobbie (Vandalia, Ill./Vandalia) (Vandalia, Ill./Vandalia) scored a game-high 23 points – including a 10-for-11 effort from the free throw line – as the Bearcats used a big second half to pull away late for the victory. McKendree, which was ranked No. 23 in the final NAIA Division I poll, won for the 10th time in its last 11 games to improve to 21-12 on the season.
The Bearcats move on to Friday's second round to meet No. 7 seed Georgetown College (Ky.). The contest is scheduled for a 12:30 p.m. CT tip-off.
“I thought we did a great job, especially in the second half,” said McKendree coach Harry Statham. “We played with a lot of confidence and a lot of intensity. Southern Nazarene is a good team, and we knew we had to play with that kind of intensity for 40 minutes. We let up a little bit late in the first half, and they took advantage of that. But I was so proud of the way our guys regrouped in the locker room, came out and battled in the second half.”
Senior guard Andy Wolff (Centralia, Ill./Metro-East Lutheran) (Centralia, Ill./Metro East Lutheran) registered his second straight double-double with a season-high 18 points to go along with 10 rebounds. Wolff also dished out a game-high five assists for the Bearcats. Sophomore forward David Ruckman (Freeburg, IL/Freeburg) (Freeburg, Ill./Freeburg) added 16 points along with a season-high 13 rebounds and four blocked shots.
Sophomore forward Garrett Gaffner (Breese, IL/Breese Central) (Breese, Ill./Breese Central) also played a key role off the bench for McKendree with nine points, four rebounds and three assists while playing a season-high 32 minutes.
After trailing 33-27 at halftime, McKendree put together one of its most dominant 20 minutes of basketball this season. The Bearcats held Southern Nazarene to just 25 percent shooting (8-of-32) while using an 18-4 run during the closing minutes to take control of the contest. In addition, McKendree made 19 free throw attempts in the second half and tied a season high by hitting 26 shots from the foul line against the Crimson Storm.
McKendree missed its first seven shots from the field but managed to stay close throughout the first half. The game was tied six different times in the opening period, the last coming at the 7:16 mark when sophomore guard John Steppe (Effingham, IL/St. Anthony) (Effingham, Ill./St. Anthony) hit a three-pointer from the wing. Southern Nazarene then scored the next seven points to regain a 25-18 advantage and eventually pushed its lead to nine points late in the period. However, a three-pointer and driving lay-up by Hobbie in the last 1:41 of the period helped the Bearcats pull within 33-27 at the intermission.
To start the second half, McKendree scored the first six points to pull even once again at 33-33. That started an 11-2 run for the Bearcats, which was capped by a three-pointer from Wolff at the 15:21 mark to push McKendree out to a 38-35 lead. The teams continued to trade baskets and leads until three free throws from Southern Nazarene's Horace McGloster gave the Crimson Storm its final lead at 49-48 with 6:43 remaining.
From there, McKendree started on its decisive run. Hobbie scored on a lay-up and was fouled to spark a run of nine consecutive points to give the Bearcats a 57-49 advantage with 4:40 to go. McKendree took its first double-digit lead of the contest, 61-51, when Ruckman shook free in the lane and converted a pass from Wolff. After Southern Nazarene battled back to within eight points, Wolff closed the run with the final five points, including three straight free throws, to extend the Bearcats' margin to 66-53 with 2:11 left.
McKendree took its largest lead at 75-59 on the Bearcats' final basket of the contest when Hobbie shoot free of the Crimson Storm defense and dunked home his final two points with 11 seconds on the clock.
Xavier Alexander led Southern Nazarene with 15 points, while McGloster and Jon West each contributed 11 points in the contest. C.J. Henry, who entered the game as the Crimson Storm's leading scorer at 13.4 points per outing, was held scoreless by the Bearcats' defensive effort.
McKendree, which is playing in its 15th NAIA National Tournament, has reached the second round for the ninth time. The Bearcats are now 3-2 all-time in tournament play against teams from the Sooner Athletic Conference.
