Box Score (LEBANON, Ill., Jan. 23)—Junior forward Matt Holmes (Houston, TX/Marshall) registered a season-high 26 points to lead the McKendree University men's basketball team to a 102-91 victory Thursday at home against Saint Joseph's College.
 
Holmes also pulled down a game-high 13 rebounds in leading the Bearcats to their second consecutive victory. McKendree is now 8-7 overall and 2-5 in the GLVC. The Bearcats will close out a five-game home stand on Saturday when the University of Indianapolis comes to the Harry M. Statham Sports Center. Indianapolis, the No. 16-ranked team in NCAA Division II, and McKendree will meet at 3 p.m.
 
Five McKendree players scored in double figures as the Bearcats topped the 100-point mark for the second straight contest. Junior forward Arthur Williams (Cairo, IL/Cairo) came off the bench to post 18 points and nine rebounds. He also had three blocked shots. Senior guard Clinton Happe (Evansville, IN/F.J. Reitz) netted 17 points, while junior forward Logan Carson (DuQuoin, IL/DuQuoin) chipped in with 16 points. Junior guard Mike DiGregorio (Morton Grove, IL/Niles Notre Dame) rounded out the list of double-digit scorers for McKendree with 14 points.
 
Junior guard Mike Springs (Waukegan, IL/Waukegan) dished out nine assists, while DiGregorio added six assists in the win for McKendree.
 
As a team, McKendree shot a season-best 66.7 percent (38-of-57) from the field against Saint Joseph's, including a 70 percent clip (21-of-30) in the first half. The Bearcats also held a 41-30 edge on the boards versus the Pumas.
 
Thursday's high-tempo contest featured four ties and six lead changes in the first half. McKendree battled back from a four-point deficit with a 12-2 run to take its largest lead of the period at 29-23 with 9:22 remaining in the period. The Bearcats made all five of their field goal attempts during the spurt. Saint Joseph's (4-14, 1-7 GLVC) responded with an 11-2 run of its own to regain the advantage at 38-33 with just over four minutes until halftime.
 
The Bearcats hit another hot stretch from the field, converting its final six field goal tries of the half to take a 50-48 lead into the locker room. Happe connected for a trio of three-pointers during the last 1:50 of the half, including a rare four-point play after he was fouled hitting the final trifecta with 12.2 seconds on the clock.
 
Saint Joseph's took its final lead of the night, 59-58, on a free throw by Cameron Vines, the GLVC's leading scorer, with 16:30 to play. McKendree then scored the next six points to grab the lead for good at 64-59 just under a minute later. Midway through the final period, the Bearcats reeled off 11 straight points to stretch its margin to 79-65 with 9:55 on the clock. Moments later, Happe drilled his fourth three-pointer of the night with 7:42 to play, giving McKendree its biggest lead at 84-68.
 
After the Pumas battled back to within single digits in the closing minutes, DiGregorio was able to help the Bearcats seal the victory from the free throw line. DiGregorio was 8-of-10 from the stripe over the final 3:21 of play, including a run of six straight.
 
Vines had a game-high 27 points, while Jon Smith added 23 points for Saint Joseph's. Vines and Smith shared team-high rebounding honors for the Pumas with 10 rebounds each, while Vines grabbed a game-high five steals in the effort.

Thursday's win marked the fourth time that McKendree topped the 100-point mark in the scoring column. The last time the Bearcats scored 100 points in a game four times came in the 2007-08 season. The triumph was also the first for McKendree in three outings against Saint Joseph's.