Box Score (KIRKSVILLE, Mo., Jan. 11)—The McKendree University men's basketball team was handed a 91-60 loss Saturday afternoon at Truman State University in a Great Lakes Valley Conference contest.
\The host Bulldogs built a double-digit lead midway through the first half and never looked back in grabbing the win in the first-ever meeting between the two programs. With the loss, McKendree moves to 6-5 overall and 0-3 in the GLVC. The Bearcats will open a five-game home stand Thursday when Lewis University visits the Harry M. Statham Sports Center. Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m.
Senior forward
Will Kirksey (St. Louis, MO/Lafayette) and junior forward
Logan Carson (DuQuoin, IL/DuQuoin) led a balanced scoring attack for McKendree with 10 points each. Junior guard
Mike DiGregorio (Morton Grove, IL/Niles Notre Dame) contributed nine points and four rebounds, while junior forward
Arthur Williams (Cairo, IL/Cairo) posted seven points and a team-leading eight rebounds for the Bearcats.
Truman State saw its perimeter game clicking in high gear in Saturday's win. The Bulldogs made 12 three-point field goals, including eight in the first half on their way to a 19-point lead at the intermission.
The contest was tied at 6-6 in the early stages before Truman State netted seven straight points to grab the lead for good at 13-6. A three-pointer by Carson with 14:08 left in the half snapped the run for the Bulldogs. Later in the period, Truman State used a 13-2 run to stretch its advantage to 30-15 with 7:08 remaining until halftime. The Bulldogs continued to add to their lead and pushed the margin to 47-28 at the intermission.
McKendree started strong in the second half, scoring 12 of the first 16 points of the period to pull within 51-40 with 16:45 to play. Carson led the Bearcats with five points during the stretch. That was as close as McKendree would come the rest of the game as Truman State responded with an 8-3 run to regain a 58-43 lead. The Bulldogs later sealed the decision by scoring 11 consecutive points to build a 71-48 lead midway through the second half.
Reed Mells led all scorers with 21 points to pace Truman State (10-3, 3-2 GLVC). Seth Jackson collected a double-double with 18 points and a game-high 10 rebounds, while Andrew Vander Zwaag sank five three-pointers to net 15 points in a reserve role for the Bulldogs.
