Box Score (LEBANON, Ill., Feb. 21)—For the second straight game, a torrid second half by a McKendree opponent sent the Bearcats to defeat in a Great Lakes Valley Conference men's basketball game.
 
Visiting Kentucky Wesleyan shot 62.9 percent from the field in the second half to pull away for an 88-64 over McKendree on Thursday at the Harry M. Statham Sports Center. The Panthers also limited the Bearcats to just 24 percent shooting over the final 20 minutes to rally from a 36-35 halftime deficit in McKendree's 2012-13 home finale.
 
With the loss, McKendree drops to 7-19 overall and 1-15 in the GLVC. The Bearcats will be on the road for their final two games of the year, beginning with a Saturday contest at the University of Southern Indiana in Evansville. Tip-off is set for 3:15 p.m.
 
Seniors John Steppe (Effingham, IL/St. Anthony) and David Ruckman (Freeburg, IL/Freeburg) were honored prior to Thursday's game for their final appearance at the Statham Center. Steppe responded with 16 points, four rebounds and a team-best five assists against Kentucky Wesleyan. Ruckman, who was injured in the Bearcats' second game of the season versus Ohio Dominican University, did not dress against the Panthers.
 
Sophomore guard Mike DiGregorio (Morton Grove, IL/Niles Notre Dame) paced McKendree with 19 points, including a trio of three-pointers. Junior guard Clinton Happe (Evansville, IN/F.J. Reitz) chipped in with 18 points and was 9-of-9 from the free throw line. As a team, the Bearcats made 21-of-22 free throw attempts against Kentucky Wesleyan (95.5 percent).
 
Following the contest, McKendree men's basketball coach Harry Statham was honored for coaching in the 1,500^th game of his collegiate career. Statham, who is the all-time wins leader in men's college basketball history at the four-year level with 1,068, is the first to reach the 1,500-mark in games coached in a career. Statham passed former Mt. St. Mary's head coach Jim Phelan for the record back in 2008-09 season. Phelan coached in 1,354 games during a 49-year career.
 
McKendree led for the majority of the first half, taking its largest lead of the night at 16-9 following a three-pointer by Happe with 12:21 left in the period. Kentucky Wesleyan chipped away at the deficit and grabbed the lead on two different occasions in the later stages of the half. With the teams tied at 28-28, Happe drilled another three-pointer with 4:09 on the clock to give the Bearcats a 31-28 advantage. McKendree pushed the margin to four points at two different times in the closing minutes, including at 36-32 following two free throws by DiGregorio with 2.9 seconds left until halftime.
 
Kentucky Wesleyan's Lucas Barker then hit a 35-foot shot as the buzzer sounded to help the Panthers pull within 36-35 at the intermission. The momentum carried into the opening minutes of the second half for Kentucky Wesleyan, which outscored McKendree 15-6 in the first five minutes of the period to grab the lead for good at 50-42.

From there the Panthers slowly pulled away, using a 14-2 burst to command a 76-52 lead with 5:21 to play.
 
Kreig Oxley and Dazmond Starke shared team-high scoring honors for Kentucky Wesleyan (18-6, 10-6 GLVC) with 17 points each. Dominique Dawson added 15 points and six rebounds, while Rico Ferguson helped out with 10 points. Barker pulled down a game-high nine rebounds for the Panthers, who held a 45-20 edge on the boards against McKendree.