Box Score (LEBANON, Ill., Feb. 19)—The McKendree University men's basketball team saw its two-game win streak come to an end with an 80-64 loss to the University of Wisconsin-Parkside, the No. 12-ranked team in NCAA Division II.
The Bearcats took a 29-27 lead with just under five minutes remaining until halftime, but the visiting Rangers closed the half on an 11-2 run to take the lead for good. McKendree slips to 11-13 overall and 4-12 in Great Lakes Valley Conference play. The Bearcats will play host to Lewis University in another GLVC tilt Saturday at 3 p.m.
Sophomore guard
Michael Jackson (O'Fallon, IL/O'Fallon) led a balanced attack for McKendree with 15 points, while senior forward
Matt Holmes (Houston, TX/Marshall) posted a double-double for the second consecutive game with 14 points and a team-leading 10 rebounds. Senior forward
Logan Carson (DuQuoin, IL/DuQuoin) added 10 points, while sophomore guard
Kyle Yates (Bethalto, IL/Civic Memorial) was perfect in the shooting column on the night in connecting for a career-best 10 points for the Bearcats.
Wisconsin-Parkside opened the game on an 11-2 run over the first five minutes of action. McKendree started to chip away at the deficit and used a 6-2 burst to pull within 21-18 at the 9:10 mark of the period. Yates opened the run with a lay-up, then added a three-pointer before junior forward
John Murphy (Peoria, IL/Richwoods) capped the run with another trifecta.
The Rangers quickly extended the lead back to seven points before McKendree battled back once again, this time with its own 11-2 run to take its only lead of the night at 29-27 with 4:51 remaining until intermission. Jackson scored five points during the stretch, while Murphy put the Bearcats in front on a driving lay-up. The Rangers quickly rebounded and went on its decisive run to close the half, taking a 38-31 lead into the locker room. Wisconsin-Parkside then used a quick start in the second half with a 9-2 run to extend its margin to 47-33 with 18:18 remaining.
In the final 20 minutes of play, Wisconsin-Parkside shot nearly 52 percent in the second half (14-of-27) to pull away for the victory. The Rangers also held a 37-25 edge on the board against the Bearcats.
Jimmy Gavin poured in a game-high 28 points to show the way for Wisconsin-Parkside, which moves to 23-2 overall and 15-1 in the GLVC. Andy Mazurczak added 13 points and a game-high six assists, while Goran Zagorac chipped in with 10 points and 13 rebounds for the Rangers.
