Box Score (LIBERTY, Mo., Feb. 13)—The McKendree University men's basketball team at William Jewell College Thursday night in a historic coaching tussle, 83-79.
 
The game set a college basketball record pitting two coaches with the highest total of wins in a head-to-head meeting. McKendree's Harry Statham, the all-time wins leader in men's college basketball history with 1,077 wins, while Larry Holley from William Jewell picked up his 853^rd career win. The 1,930 combined victories for Statham and Holley surpasses the previous mark of 1,914 wins, which was established back on Feb. 1 when Duke University's Mike Krzyzewski and Syracuse head coach Jim Boeheim squared off.
 
In Thursday's contest, McKendree led 40-37 at the half before the host Cardinals opened the second half on a 12-2 run to grab the lead for good. William Jewell stretched the margin to as many as 11 points before the Bearcats pulled within two 81-79 in the closing seconds.
 
McKendree is now 9-12 overall and 3-10 in the Great Lakes Valley Conference. The Bearcats will wrap up a two-game road trip to the Kansas City area by visiting Rockhurst University on Saturday. Tip-off is set for 1 p.m.
 
Junior forward Logan Carson (DuQuoin, IL/DuQuoin) led the way for McKendree with 20 points, while junior forward Matt Holmes (Houston, TX/Marshall) chipped in with 18 points and a team-best nine rebounds. Junior guard Mike DiGregorio (Morton Grove, IL/Niles Notre Dame) added 14 points in the effort, and senior guard Clinton Happe (Evansville, IN/F.J. Reitz) also reached double figures in the scoring department with 11 points.
 
William Jewell (9-13, 5-9 GLVC) raced to a 10-4 lead in the opening moments before the Bearcats answered with a 10-0 run to take its first lead of the night at 14-10 with 11:59 remaining in the period. McKendree extended the margin to 23-16 thanks to a pair of free throws by Happe at the 9:22 mark. The Cardinals battled back and eventually regained the lead at 28-27 before consecutive baskets by junior forward Arthur Williams (Cairo, IL/Cairo) and Holmes enabled the Bearcats to pull back in front at 31-28. McKendree maintained its three-point advantage at the intermission.
 
McKendree trailed 76-65 with just over six minutes on the clock before chipping away at the deficit. Happe' only field goal of the second half, a three-pointer with 1:22 remaining, helped the Bearcats trim the deficit to 81-76. William Jewell came up empty on its next possession, and DiGregorio hit a free throw with 28.9 seconds left to bring McKendree within 81-77. DiGregorio missed the second foul shot, but Holmes claimed the offensive rebound and was fouled. He sank two foul shots with 24.3 seconds on the clock to bring McKendree within 81-79.
 
The Cardinals' Dwight Sistrunk was fouled on the inbounds, and he hit two free throws to give William Jewell a four-point lead at 83-79 with 11.3 seconds to go. McKendree turned the ball over on its final possession, and the Cardinals were able to run out the clock and preserve the win.
     
D'Vante Mosby led William Jewell with 20 points, 16 of which were scored in the second half. Clint McCullough added 16 points and a team-leading eight rebounds for the Cardinals.