(LEBANON, Ill., Feb. 13)—The McKendree University men's basketball team dropped an 87-76 decision Saturday afternoon at the Harry M. Statham Sports Center against Drury University.
 
Junior guard David Franklin (O'Fallon, IL/Althoff Catholic) and freshman guard Nate Michael (St. Joseph, IL/St. Joseph-Ogden) combined to score 57 of the Bearcats' 76 points in the Great Lakes Valley Conference contest. Franklin dropped in a game-high 31 points, while Michael connected for 26 points against the Panthers. Franklin also led all players with 13 rebounds while dishing out five assists. Junior guard Michael Jackson (O'Fallon, IL/O'Fallon) added 13 points in effort for the Bearcats.
 
McKendree slips to 12-11 overall and 5-10 in the GLVC. The Bearcats will continue their home stand on Thursday when Bellarmine University comes to town. Tip-off for the conference tilt is set for 7:30 p.m.
 
Both teams shot the ball well from the field in the final 20 minutes of play. Drury hit 67.9 percent of its attempts from the floor (19-of-28), while McKendree was 19-of-33 from the field (57.6 percent). For the game, the Panthers shot 57.6 percent, hitting 34-of-59 shots.
 
Drury led for the majority of the contest, but McKendree held the early advantage. The Bearcats scored eight of the first 10 points in the first two minutes of action and held the lead until the middle stages of the period. A burst of five consecutive points gave the Panthers a 17-15 lead at the 12-minute mark. Franklin hit two free throws a minute later to knot the contest at 17-17. Drury answered by reeling off the next 11 points to take the lead for good, 28-17, with 5:25 left until intermission.
 
McKendree battled back in the closing moments of the half, and two more free throws from Franklin with 37.1 seconds on the clock helped the Bearcats pull within 32-25 at the break. Early in the second half, McKendree stayed close, chipping away at the deficit and getting as close as 42-37 following a three-point by Michael with 15:22 to play.
 
A 7-0 run midway through the second half pushed Drury out to its largest lead of the game at 58-43. The Bearcats made one final run at the Panthers, getting as close as seven points in the closing moments. However, Drury was able to seal its fourth straight victory by scoring seven unanswered points in the final minute.
 
Saturday's game marked the fourth time in 2015-16 that Franklin has reached the 30-point mark in a game. He poured in a season-high 35 points against Robert Morris-Peoria back on Jan. 2.
 
Kameron Bundy paced Drury (16-7, 11-4 GLVC) with 28 points, 22 of which came in the second half. Tevin Foster added 20 points and a team-best five assists, while Douglas Moore came off the bench to net 11 points for the Panthers.