(LOUISVILLE, Ky., Dec. 5)—The McKendree University men's basketball squad closed out a two-game road trip Saturday afternoon with a 78-53 loss at No. 24-ranked Bellarmine University.
The host Knights reeled off 19 consecutive points to close the first half to erase a two-point McKendree lead and take a 17-point advantage at the intermission. With the loss, the Bearcats slip to 4-2 overall and 0-2 in Great Lakes Valley Conference play. McKendree will return to non-conference action Wednesday by playing host to Central Christian College. Tip-off at the Harry M. Statham Sports Center is set for 7 p.m.
Junior forward
Darin Winkelman (Steeleville, IL/Steeleville) led a balanced attack for McKendree with 12 points, while junior guard
David Franklin (O'Fallon, IL/Althoff Catholic) chipped in with 11 points. Both Winkelman and Franklin pulled down a team-leading eight rebounds in the contest. Senior forward
Brandon Book (Albers, IL/Breese Central) also scored in double figures for the Bearcats with 10 points. Franklin also paced McKendree with five assists at Bellarmine.
McKendree held the lead for most of the first half at Bellarmine. The Bearcats built a four-point advantage on three different occasions, the last coming at 20-16 on a three-pointer by Franklin with 7:59 left in the period. The Knights fought back and knotted the contest at 20-20 before Franklin scored on a driving lay-up at the 5:40 mark to push McKendree back in front at 22-20.
At that point, Bellarmine (6-2, 2-0 GLVC) began its decisive run. A pair of free throws tied the contest before a lay-up by Al Davis pushed the Knights out to a 24-22 advantage. McKendree missed on its final eight shots of the half, and a basket by Adam Eberhard just before the buzzer capped the spurt to send Bellarmine into the locker room with a 39-22 halftime lead.
Early in the second half, McKendree pulled with 41-28 following a three-pointer from senior guard
A.J. Schmidt (New Albany, IN/New Albany) with just over 18 minutes to play. The Knights then scored the next seven points and slowly pull away for the league win.
Davis showed the way for Bellarmine with 14 points and nine rebounds. Yasin Kolo posted 12 points and a game-high nine rebounds, while Rusty Troutman added 12 points and led all players with six assists.
