Box Score (NASHVILLE, Tenn., Nov. 29)—The McKendree University men's basketball team relied on its senior co-captains to post a 90-81 victory Saturday afternoon at Trevecca Nazarene University.
 
Senior forward Matt Holmes (Houston, TX/Marshall) poured in a game-high 27 points, while senior guard Logan Carson (DuQuoin, IL/DuQuoin) connected for 20 points in leading the Bearcats to a 3-0 start on the young season. Holmes and Carson also combined for 16 rebounds in the contest, with Holmes grabbing a team-high nine and Carson adding seven.
 
Following a trend it has set in each of its first two contests, McKendree rode the strength of a hot shooting second half to victory. The Bearcats made 61 percent of their field goal attempts (14-of-23) over the final 20 minutes to earn the win in its first road game of the 2014-15 campaign. For the contest, McKendree shot 56.1 percent (32-of-57) from the floor.
 
Junior forward Brandon Book (Albers, IL/Breese Central) netted eight of his 11 points in the second half for the Bearcats, while senior forward Arthur Williams (Cairo, IL/Cairo) connected for eight of his 10 points in the opening period. Carson dished out a game-high six assists for McKendree as junior guard A.J. Schmidt (New Albany, IN/New Albany) distributed five assists and took three second-half charges on the defensive end for the Bearcats.
 
McKendree used big runs late in the first half and early in the second half to help set the tone for the contest. The Bearcats trailed 30-26 with just under seven minutes left in the first half before reeling off 11 consecutive points over a three-minute span to grab the lead for good at 37-30. Four different players scored during the spurt for McKendree, including freshman guard Nate Michael (St. Joseph, IL/St. Joseph-Ogden), who buried a three-pointer with 3:41 remaining until halftime to cap the run and give the Bearcats a seven-point advantage.
 
Trevecca Nazarene (1-5) pulled within 39-38 in the closing minutes before McKendree scored the final six points of the half, including consecutive lay-ups by Holmes in the final minute, to regain a 45-38 advantage at the intermission. McKendree, which made its first six shots of the game, hit just under 53 percent of its field goal tries in the first half.
 
The Bearcats broke from the gates quickly at the outset of the second half, scoring 10 of the first 11 points to stretch its margin to 55-39 with 17:29 to play. Carson scored the final eight points of the run for McKendree, including a three-pointer and a pair of lay-ups. Midway through the half, Carson drilled another three-pointer to give the Bearcats their largest lead of the game at 69-52.
 
The host Trojans started to chip away at the deficit and turned up the defensive pressure to mount a comeback bid against McKendree. Trevecca Nazarene used an 18-4 run to pull within 73-70 with 5:53 remaining, but the Bearcats were able to push the lead back to double digits. McKendree was able to seal the victory at the free throw line, hitting all six of its attempts in the final 30 seconds.
 
Christopher Elliott led a balanced scoring attack for Trevecca Nazarene with 14 points, while Byron Sanford posted a double-double of 13 points and a game-high 10 rebounds for the Trojans. Sanford also posted team-high totals of five assists and four steals for Trevecca Nazarene. The teams will meet once more on Dec. 13 at the Harry M. Statham Sports Center in Lebanon.
 
McKendree will have a week off before opening a three-game home stand next Saturday (Dec. 6) against Central Christian College. Tip-off is set for 3 p.m.