(RENSSELAER, Ind., Jan. 21)—The McKendree University men's basketball team saw a late lead slip away in a 79-73 loss Thursday evening at Saint Joseph's College.
 
The Bearcats, who held a 36-31 advantage at the half and led by as many as eight points during the game, could not hold off a late burst by the host Pumas in Great Lakes Valley Conference action. McKendree moves to 9-7 overall and 2-6 in the GLVC. The Bearcats will remain on the road for another conference battle at the University of Indianapolis on Saturday afternoon. Tip-off is set for 3:15 p.m. ET (2:15 p.m. CT) at Nicoson Hall in Indianapolis, Ind.
 
Senior center David Newton (Rochelle, IL/Rochelle) poured in a career-high 20 points to lead the way for McKendree. Newton was 9-of-10 from the field and hit a pair of free throws in 22 minutes of action off the bench. iJunior guard David Franklin (O'Fallon, IL/Althoff Catholic) registered a double-double with 19 points and a game-high 11 rebounds in the contest. Franklin also had four assists against Saint Joseph's. Junior guard Michael Jackson (O'Fallon, IL/O'Fallon) chipped in with 11 points for the Bearcats.
 
After holding its five-point lead at the half, McKendree surged out to a 52-46 advantage following a flay-up by Newton with 11:26 to play. Saint Joseph's responded with an 8-2 run to tie the game at 54-54 midway through the second half. The teams battled back and forth for the next several minutes before the Pumas surged out to a 63-60 lead with just over seven minutes left.
 
A free throw by Franklin and a lay-up from Jackson at the 4:57 mark knotted the score once again at 63-63. The teams traded baskets before Saint Joseph's posted the next six points for a 71-65 lead and never trailed again. McKendree got as close as 75-73 thanks to a driving lay-up from freshman guard Nate Michael (St. Joseph, IL/St. Joseph-Ogden) with just over nine seconds to play. From there, the Pumas hit their final four free throw attempts to seal the win.
 
In the first half, McKendree controlled the tempo and raced out to an eight-point advantage on three different occasions, the last coming at 36-28 following a lay-up by Jackson with 2:09 remaining until the intermission. The Bearcats shot 51.7 percent (15-of-29) in the opening period to build its 36-31 lead at the break.
 
Davone Daniels came off the bench to lead Saint Joseph's (9-9, 4-4 GLVC) with 18 points. Davious Webster connected for 14 of his 16 points in the second half for the Pumas as Jordan Seele grabbed a team-best seven rebounds.