BOX SCORE (PDF)
(EDWARDSVILLE, Ill., Nov. 5)—Freshman center
Nolan Gerling (Germantown, IL/Mater Dei) registered game-high totals of 32 points and 14 rebounds to lead the McKendree University men's basketball team to a 91-84 victory Saturday night in exhibition play at NCAA Division I SIUE.
Gerling was 12-of-18 from the field and added three blocked shots and three steals in leading the Bearcats to the win. This was the first meeting on the basketball court between McKendree and SIUE since the 1991-92 season.
Saturday's win marked the Bearcats' victory over an NCAA Division program since the 1996-97 season. Back on Dec. 5, 1996, McKendree posted a 72-59 at Southeast Missouri State University.
Five different players scored in double figures for McKendree, which outscored SIUE 47-38 in the final 20 minutes of play.Sophomore guard
Nate Michael (St. Joseph, IL/St. Joseph-Ogden) chipped in with 16 points and a game-high six assists before fouling out late in the contest. Junior guard
Justin Blanks (Barberton, OH/Norton) came off the bench to score all 14 of his points in the second half, while senior guard
Michael Jackson (O'Fallon, IL/O'Fallon) had 12 points and senior forward
Darin Winkelman (Steeleville, IL/Steeleville) netted 10 points.
"I thought overall we had a good team effort tonight," said McKendree head coach
Harry Statham. "Obviously with this being our first game action of the season, we saw plenty of things that we need to work on. But our guys played hard from the first whistle all the way to the end. I thought Nolan played well at both ends of the floor, and we had many different guys step up and deliver big performances tonight. We'll enjoy this one tonight and get back to work first thing on Monday,"
In a game that featured 12 ties and 11 lead changes, McKendree used a 12-4 run to take the lead for good with just over six minutes to play. Blanks helped fuel the burst for the Bearcats, pouring in nine consecutive points in one stretch. Blanks capped the run on a three-pointer with 6:22 on the clock to give McKendree a 79-72 advantage.
McKendree extended its lead to as many as 14 points in the closing minutes before SIUE made one final run, scoring 11 of the final 15 points to account for the final margin. Burak Eslik paced the Cougars with 18 points, while Carlos Anderson recorded a double-double with 17 points and 10 rebounds.
In the first half, SIUE controlled the tempo and the lead for the majority of the period. The Cougars grabbed a seven-point advantage on three different occasions, with the last coming at 46-39 with 1:12 left until intermission. But a lay-up by Gerling and a 25-foot jumper from Michael just before the buzzer sent McKendree into the locker room trailing 46-44.
The Bearcats will tip off their 2016-17 regular-season schedule next Saturday (Nov. 12) when they host Robert Morris University-Springfield in a non-conference game. Game time is slated for 8 p.m. at the Harry M. Statham Sports Center.
