Box Score (LEBANON, Ill., Feb. 14)—The McKendree University men's basketball team overcame a 14-point deficit in the second half to grab a 79-72 win Saturday afternoon at home against William Jewell College.
The Bearcats trailed 56-42 with 11:29 remaining before storming back to collect the Great Lakes Valley Conference victory. McKendree improved to 11-12 overall and 4-11 in the GLVC thanks to Saturday's win. The Bearcats will continue its five-game home stand on Thursday against the University of Wisconsin-Parkside, the No. 12-ranked team in NCAA Division II. Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m. at the Harry M. Statham Sports Center.
Fittingly, McKendree's two senior players led the way on Senior Day. Forward
Logan Carson (DuQuoin, IL/DuQuoin) dropped in a game-high 31 points, including 25 in the second half. Carson also added three assists, two blocked shots and a pair of steals. Forward
Matt Holmes (Houston, TX/Marshall) added a double-double with 15 points and a team-leading 10 rebounds. He also dished out three assists for McKendree. Sophomore guard
Michael Jackson (O'Fallon, IL/O'Fallon) also reached double figures in the scoring column for the Bearcats with 16 points.
After trailing 37-25 at the half, McKendree opened the second period on a 13-4 burst to pull within 41-38 with 17:12 to play. William Jewell responded by scoring 12 of the next 13 points to stretch its lead back to 53-39 with just over 13 minutes on the clock. The Cardinals still held a 56-42 lead at the 11:29 mark when McKendree began its comeback.
Carson netted six points during a run of 10 consecutive points that helped the Bearcats pull within 56-52. William Jewell was able to bounce back and push its advantage out to 60-54 when a three-pointer from sophomore forward
Brian Koch (Mt. Vernon, IN/Mt. Vernon) ignited a 9-0 run that put McKendree out in front at 63-60 with 5:27 to play. The Cardinals fought back and tied the score one final time at 68-68 before a three-pointer from Jackson at the 2:14 mark started a 7-0 spurt that gave the Bearcats the lead for good. Carson helped seal the win by hitting all six free throw attempts in the final 37 seconds of play.
McKendree opened the game on a 7-2 run before William Jewell used a 12-2 run to take a 14-9 lead with just under 12 minutes remaining in the first half. The Cardinals pushed their lead to as many as 14 points in the period before taking its 12-point advantage into the locker room.
In the first half, William Jewell shot 51.5 percent from the field (17-of-33) while holding McKendree to just 28.6 percent from the floor (8-of-28). The numbers flipped in the final 20 minutes of play as the Bearcats connected on 60 percent of their field goal tries (18-of-30) while limiting the Cardinals to 36.8 percent from the floor (14-of-38). McKendree also went 16-of-18 from the free throw line (88.9 percent).
D'Vante Mosby led William Jewell (10-13, 6-9 GLVC) with 18 points and a game-high 16 rebounds. Christian Hildebrandt added 13 points and three assists, while Jordan Lewis connected for 12 points.
Saturday's contest also featured a match-up of two of the all-time wins leaders in men's college basketball history. McKendree's
Harry Statham, who currently holds the top spot on the list, collected career win No. 1,088 thanks to the Bearcats' comeback. Larry Holley of William Jewell has 865 career victories and sits in the top 15 on the all-time list.
