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(LEBANON, Ill., Nov. 24)—The McKendree University men's basketball team rallied from an 11-point first-half deficit to post a 102-92 victory Tuesday at home in non-conference play against Lincoln University.
 
The Bearcats made their first nine shots of the second half – including seven three-point field goals – to grab the lead for good. McKendree moves to 2-0 on the season and will host Robert Morris University-Springfield tomorrow night at 7 p.m. in the Harry M. Statham Sports Center.
 
Five different players scored in double figures for McKendree in Tuesday night's win. Junior guard Michael Jackson (O'Fallon, IL/O'Fallon) poured in a team-high 23 points, including five three-point field goals, to show the way for the Bearcats. Senior forward Brandon Book (Albers, IL/Breese Central) added 20 points and six rebounds in just 22 minutes of play before fouling out late in the contest. Junior forward Darin Winkelman (Steeleville, IL/Steeleville) had 15 of his 19 points in the second half and had 11 consecutive points during the Bearcats' decisive run early in the final period. Winkelman also pulled down a game-high seven rebounds in the win.
 
Junior guard David Franklin (O'Fallon, IL/Althoff Catholic) netted 16 points for McKendree, and freshman guard Nate Michael (St. Joseph, IL/St. Joseph-Ogden) reached double digits for the first time in a McKendree uniform with 14 points in a reserve role.
 
Lincoln (3-2) controlled the action for most of the first half and used a 13-3 run to take its largest lead of the night at 22-11 with 11:52 remaining in the opening period. McKendree chipped away at the deficit before reeling off 12 of 14 points to pull even at 30-30 with 5:15 left before the half. Book and Jackson each had five points during the run for the Bearcats. McKendree eventually forged a 37-36 lead before the Blue Tigers rallied and pulled out to a 50-45 lead at the intermission.
 
After Lincoln hit its first shot of the second half, McKendree began its decisive run. Winkelman sandwiched a pair of three-pointers around a driving lay-up to start the comeback and help the Bearcats pull within 54-53 with 16:57 to play. The Blue Tigers scored on their next trip down the floor when Winkelman drilled another three from the wing to knot the contest at 56-56. A trifecta from Jackson was followed by a lay-up from senior forward John Murphy (Peoria, IL/Richwoods) to cap a 16-4 burst to open the half and push the Bearcats out to a 61-56 advantage with 15:03 on the clock.
 
Jackson then added two more three-pointers around another trifecta from Winkelman to punctuate the 9-for-9 spurt to open the second half, giving McKendree a 70-60 lead with 13:32 on the clock. The Bearcats eventually stretched the margin to as many as 14 points midway through the final period before holding off a late Lincoln rally to hang on for the win.
 
In the final 20 minutes of play, McKendree shot 64 percent from the field (16-of-25). The Bearcats and Blue Tigers combined to hit 27 shots from beyond the arc, including 16 for McKendree. Both teams shot better than 50 for the night as McKendree made 55.4 percent of its attempts from the floor (31-of-56), while Lincoln checked in at 51.5 percent (34-of-66).
 
The 102 points scored by McKendree was the first time the Bearcats topped the century mark since February 8, 2014. That day, McKendree posted a 106-99 triumph over Missouri S & T at the Statham Center.
 
Jaylon Smith paced Lincoln with 23 points, while O'Shai Clark came off the bench to net 21 points for the Blue Tigers. Richie Lewis helped out with 18 points, six assists and a game-high five steals for Lincoln as Anthony Virdure dished out a game-high eight assists in the effort.