Box Score (LEBANON, Ill., Jan. 10)—There were plenty of heroes to be found on Saturday as the McKendree University men's basketball team clawed its way to an 88-84 win over Quincy University at the Harry M. Statham Sports Center.
Junior forward
Brandon Book (Albers, IL/Breese Central) registered a game-high 29 points while adding five rebounds and three blocks in leading the Bearcats, who notched their first Great Lakes Valley Conference victory of the 2014-15 season. McKendree snapped a three-game losing streak to improve to 7-4 overall and 1-3 in the GLVC.
Junior guard
John Murphy (Peoria, IL/Richwoods) added a season-best 16 points and also had five rebounds for the Bearcats, while senior forward
Matt Holmes (Houston, TX/Marshall) finished with 14 points, seven rebounds and a team-leading four assists in the win. Sophomore guard
Michael Jackson (O'Fallon, IL/O'Fallon) came off the bench to post 13 points and a career-high nine rebounds for McKendree.
As a team, McKendree shot a season-best 88.9 percent from the free throw line, hitting 24-of-27 attempts. The Bearcats made 13 of their final 14 attempts from the foul line, including all six in the final minute of play to fend off the visiting Hawks.
Quincy (7-8, 1-4 GLVC) held a 47-45 lead at the half and stretched the margin to 58-51 with just over 14 minutes to play. McKendree was able to chip away at the deficit before using a run of six consecutive points to tie the contest at 62-62. Murphy closed the burst on a 15-foot jumper with 9:50 remaining. The Hawks were able to forge a slight lead once again before a three-pointer from Book at the 6:06 mark pushed McKendree back out in front at 68-66.
Just over a minute later, McKendree was able to extend its lead to 73-68 before a 7-2 run allowed Quincy to tie the game one final time at 75-75. Murphy hit two free throws with 2:31 on the clock to give the Bearcats the lead for good at 77-75. Following a missed three-pointer by the Hawks, sophomore guard
Kyle Yates (Bethalto, IL/Civic Memorial) sank a pair of foul shots to give McKendree a four-point advantage. Another free throw from Jackson at the 1:02 mark gave the Bearcats an 80-75 lead.
The teams traded points before Quincy's Nate Des Jardins hit a three-pointer with 29.4 seconds to play to bring the Hawks within 84-82. Following a Quincy timeout, McKendree was able to break the Hawks' full-court press, and Book hit an uncontested lay-up to push the Bearcats out to an 86-82 lead. Quincy scored one final time with 11 seconds remaining to pull within two, but Yates was fouled on the inbounds and sank two more free throws with 7.2 seconds to play to seal the win for McKendree.
In the first half, McKendree was able to overcome an early deficit thanks to an 11-2 run to grab a 21-14 advantage with 12:19 left in the period. Five different players scored in the spurt for the Bearcats. McKendree held the lead until the final minute of the half, when a pair of baskets by Evan McGaughey gave the Hawks a two-point lead at the intermission.
McGaughey led Quincy with 19 points and seven rebounds. Dalton Hoover added 15 points and a game-high five blocks for the Hawks.
McKendree will host Salem International University Tuesday at 7 p.m. in the Statham Center. Tuesday's contest will mark the Bearcats' final non-conference game of the 2014-15 season.
