Box Score (RENSSELAER, Ind., Jan. 24)—The McKendree University men's basketball team closed out a five-game road trip Saturday afternoon with a 70-63 loss at Saint Joseph's College.
The Bearcats cut a nine-point deficit in the second half down to just one point in the closing minutes, but could not complete the comeback in dropping a Great Lakes Valley Conference decision to the host Pumas. McKendree is now 8-9 overall and 1-8 in GLVC play. The Bearcats will return to the Harry M. Statham Sports Center Thursday evening for another conference contest against the University of Southern Indiana. Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m.
Senior forward
Logan Carson (DuQuoin, IL/DuQuoin) paced a balanced attack for McKendree with 14 points. Carson also posted a team-high four assists while pulling down seven rebounds. Sophomore guard
Michael Jackson (O'Fallon, IL/O'Fallon) and junior forward
John Murphy (Peoria, IL/Richwoods) each connected for 11 points in the effort. Junior center
David Newton (Rochelle, IL/Rochelle) notched career-high totals of nine points and 14 rebounds for the Bearcats in just 20 minutes of action. Newton was making his first career start for the Bearcats.
Senior forward
Matt Holmes (Houston, TX/Marshall) narrowly missed out on a double-double for McKendree with eight points and nine rebounds.
McKendree trailed 26-22 at the half, but used a 12-3 run over the first three minutes of the second half to take a 34-29 advantage. Saint Joseph's responded by scoring the next nine points to regain the lead for good at 38-34 with 15:05 to play. The Pumas eventually stretched the margin to 53-43 midway through the second half before the Bearcats began to rally.
A jumper by Carson and a three-pointer from Murphy on consecutive possessions helped McKendree shave its deficit in half at 53-48 with just under eight minutes to play. The Bearcats continued to battle and rallied within one point on two different occasions, the last coming at 60-59 on a pair of free throws by junior guard
A.J. Schmidt (New Albany, IN/New Albany) at the 4:45 mark. Saint Joseph's Dawson Gore hit a three-pointer on the Pumas' next possession to push the lead back to four points.
McKendree would come as close as 65-63 after Murphy hit two free throws with 1:55 on the clock. Saint Joseph's then held the Bearcats without a point down the stretch, scoring the final five points to pull away for the win.
The teams traded leads throughout the first half, with McKendree holding a three-point advantage several times in the period. Saint Joseph's used an 8-0 run to surge in front at 21-16 before taking its four-point lead at the intermission.
Cameron Vines led Saint Joseph's (5-14, 2-7 GLVC) with 23 points and nine rebounds. Jonah Coble came off the bench to contribute 14 points, while Nathan Tidwell added 10 points and seven rebounds for the Pumas.
