Box Score (LEBANON, Ill., Jan. 31)—The McKendree University men's basketball team dropped an 82-63 decision Saturday at home to Bellarmine University, the No. 6-ranked team in NCAA Division II.
 
Senior forward Matt Holmes (Houston, TX/Marshall) poured in a career-high 28 point and grabbed eight rebounds to lead the way for McKendree, which slipped to 9-10 overall and 2-9 in Great Lakes Valley Conference play. The Bearcats will make the trip to Rolla, Mo., on Thursday for a GLVC match-up against Missouri S & T. Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m.
 
Sophomore guard Michael Jackson (O'Fallon, IL/O'Fallon) was the only other McKendree player to reach double figures with 12 points. Junior guard A.J. Schmidt (New Albany, IN/New Albany) dished out a team-leading five assists, while senior forward Logan Carson (DuQuoin, IL/DuQuoin) added four assists.
 
Bellarmine (18-2, 10-1 GLVC) shot better than 60 percent from the field against McKendree, hitting on 38-of-63 attempts from the floor. The Knights also held a 38-28 edge in rebounding against the Bearcats. After McKendree held an early lead in the contest before Bellarmine used a run of six consecutive points to grab a 10-5 advantage at the 16:12 mark of the opening half. Moments later, McKendree responded with an 8-2 run of its own to take its final lead of the day at 15-14 at the midway point of the period. Holmes had five points during the burst, which also included a three-pointer from Jackson.
 
A dunk from Josh Derksen ignited a run of 10 straight points that pushed Bellarmine in front to stay at 24-15 with 8:18 left until halftime. The Knights stretched the margin to as many as 14 points before taking a 35-23 lead into the locker room.
 
McKendree came out strong at the outset of the second half, clawing to within 41-33 following a three-pointer by junior forward John Murphy (Peoria, IL/Richwoods) with 16:53 to play. Bellarmine then scored the next nine points to take command at 50-33 less than two minutes later.
 
Jake Thelen had 13 of his team-high 21 points in the second half to lead the way for Bellarmine. Thelen also pulled down a game-high 16 rebounds for the Knights. Chris Whitehead contributed 17 points and a game-high eight assists for the Knights, while Derksen finished with 14 points.
 
This is the second straight game where a McKendree player registered a career-high in the scoring column. On Thursday in the Bearcats' 88-82 win over the University of Southern Indiana, Carson dropped in 35 points for a new personal high, while David Newton (Rochelle, IL/Rochelle) also added a career-best 12 points in the effort.