(LEBANON, Ill., Jan. 2)—Junior guard David Franklin (O'Fallon, IL/Althoff Catholic) poured in a career-high 35 points – including 23 in the first half – to lead the McKendree University men's basketball team to a 79-70 victory Saturday evening over Robert Morris University-Peoria at the Harry M. Statham Sports Center.
 
Franklin was 14-of-18 from the field with a pair of three-pointers and went 5-of-6 from the free throw line to spark the Bearcats in their final non-conference game of the 2015-16 season. He also contributed eight rebounds and three assists in the win as McKendree improves to 7-3 on the season. The Bearcats will head back into Great Lakes Valley Conference play Thursday evening with a road contest at Truman State University. Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m. in Kirksville, Mo.
 
Over his last three games, Franklin has averaged 30.6 points per outing. He dropped in 31 points back on Dec. 12 versus Trevecca Nazarene University before a 26-point effort in a home win over Salem International University on Dec. 16. Franklin's 35-point outburst against Robert Morris-Peoria is the highest scoring output for a McKendree player since Logan Carson (DuQuoin, IL/DuQuoin) had 35 points in an 88-82 win over the University of Southern Indiana back on Jan. 29, 2015 at the Statham Center.
 
Junior guard Michael Jackson (O'Fallon, IL/O'Fallon) was the only other McKendree player to score in double figures with 18 points, 12 of which came in the second half. Freshman guard Nate Michael (St. Joseph, IL/St. Joseph-Ogden) came off the bench to add six points as junior forward Darin Winkelman (Steeleville, IL/Steeleville) pulled down a game-high 10 rebounds for the Bearcats. Senior guard A.J. Schmidt (New Albany, IN/New Albany) dished out a game-high five assists in the win for McKendree, which won seven of its eight non-league games this season.
 
McKendree raced to a 17-9 lead in the opening minutes before Robert Morris-Peoria (3-10) used a 12-2 burst to take a 21-19 lead midway through the period. Moments later, Franklin scored six consecutive points as part of a 7-2 run to regain a 26-23 advantage at the 9:01 mark. The visiting Eagles pulled back in front before two free throws each from Schmidt and Winkelman pushed the Bearcats in front to stay at 39-35 with 3:29 remaining until the intermission.
 
After forging a 45-39 lead at the half, McKendree was able to maintain its advantage over the final 20 minutes. Robert Morris-Peoria came within four points on three different occasions in the second half. The Bearcats held the visitors at bay, grabbing their largest lead of the night at 70-60 thanks to a pair of free throws from Michael with 4:14 remaining. The Eagles made one final run, closing the gap to five points in the waning seconds, before Franklin sealed the contest by scoring the final five points of the night for McKendree.
 
Walker Hartman scored all 16 of his points in the first half to lead the way for Robert Morris-Peoria. Fred Greer added 11 points, while Myles Coleman chipped in with 10 points, six rebounds and four assists.
 
Saturday's victory marked career win No. 1,095 for McKendree men's basketball coach Harry Statham. The all-time leader in men's college basketball history, Statham needs just three victories to match the four-year collegiate coaching mark (men's or women's) of 1,098 wins held by former University of Tennessee women's basketball Pat Summitt.