(KIRKSVILLE, Mo., Jan. 7)—The McKendree University men's basketball team returned to Great Lakes Valley Conference action Thursday evening in an 84-62 loss at Truman State University.
 
The host Bulldogs shot 54.3 percent in the first half on its way to a 45-20 lead at the intermission and led wire-to-wire in collecting the win. McKendree slips to 7-4 overall and 0-3 in GLVC play. The Bearcats will visit Quincy University Saturday afternoon at 3:15 p.m. to wrap up its two-game road swing.
 
Junior guard David Franklin (O'Fallon, IL/Althoff Catholic) showed the way for the Bearcats with 23 points and nine rebounds. Freshman guard Nate Michael (St. Joseph, IL/St. Joseph-Ogden) came off the bench to add 10 points in the contest for McKendree. Junior forward Darin Winkelman (Steeleville, IL/Steeleville) finished just shy of a double-double with eight points and eight rebounds in the effort.
 
Truman State (11-3, 3-1 GLVC) scored the first seven points of the night on its way to a 21-7 lead midway through the first half. The Bulldogs made 19-of-35 shots from the floor while holding McKendree to just 26.9 percent (7-of-26) from the floor in the opening half on its way to the 25-point lead at the break. Truman State was able to maintain its lead over the final 20 minutes in grabbing their third consecutive win over the Bearcats, who held a slight 39-38 edge in rebounding in the contest.
 
Connor Erickson led a balanced attack for Truman State with 15 points and seven rebounds. Jake Velky contributed 14 points in a reserve role, while Cory Myers posted 11 points, four assists and three steals. Dwight Sistrunk flirted with a triple-double before finishing the night with 10 points, eight assists and six rebounds for the Bulldogs.