Box Score (QUINCY, Ill., Jan. 9)—The McKendree University men's basketball team dropped a 103-72 decision Thursday at Quincy University in a Great Lakes Valley Conference match-up at Pershing Arena.
Quincy reeled off 18 consecutive points to break open a close game in the later stages of the first half to pull away for the victory. With the loss, McKendree slips to 6-4 on the year and 0-2 in GLVC play. The Bearcats will head to Kirksville, Mo., for a Saturday afternoon GLVC contest against Truman State University. Tip-off is set for 3 p.m.
Seniors
Will Kirksey (St. Louis, MO/Lafayette) and
Clinton Happe (Evansville, IN/F.J. Reitz) shared team-high scoring honors for McKendree with 13 points each Junior forwards
Matt Holmes (Houston, TX/Marshall) and
Logan Carson (DuQuoin, IL/DuQuoin) each connected for 10 points in the contest for the Bearcats. Kirksey also pulled down a team-high five rebounds for McKendree, while Carson added three steals and a pair of blocked shots for the Bearcats.
In the early stages of the first half there were two ties and four lead changes. McKendree grabbed a 7-6 lead following a lay-up by Kirksey at the 17:59 mark of the period before Quincy ripped off 10 straight points in a span of 1:25 to take the lead for good at 16-7. The Bearcats battled back, and a free throw by Kirksey with 11:09 left in the half helped trim the deficit to 23-22.
From there, Quincy took control with its decisive run. The Hawks held McKendree without a point for nearly six minutes while scoring 18 in a row to stretch its advantage to 41-22. The Bearcats broke the drought at the 5:12 mark when Carson sank two free throws. Quincy shot 60.5 percent (23-of-38) in the first half to build a 51-30 lead at the intermission.
McKendree scored the first four points in the second half and chipped away at the deficit before Quincy seized control once again. Runs of 7-2 and 9-4 helped the Hawks extend their advantage to 94-62 with just over three minutes to play. Quincy led by as many as 34 points in avenging a 67-59 loss to the Bearcats last season in Lebanon.
All 13 players who saw action for Quincy scored in the contest. Scottie Bruxvoort led five Hawks scoring in double figures with 18 points. Dalton Hoover and Chris Babbitt each added 13 points in the contest, while Nate Des Jardins contributed team-high totals of five assists and three steals for Quincy.
