(LEBANON, Ill., Jan. 21)—The McKendree University men's basketball team collected its first Great Lakes Valley Conference victory of the season Saturday afternoon with an 85-80 victory over Saint Joseph's College at the Harry M. Statham Sports Center.
 
The Bearcats trailed by as many as 15 points in the later stages of the first half and built a 12-point cushion in the second half before holding off a late charge from the visiting Pumas to snap a five-game winless streak. McKendree improves to 7-9 overall and 1-7 in the GLVC. The Bearcats will head north for a pair of league games next week, beginning with a contest Thursday night at Lewis University. Tip-off is slated for 7:30 p.m. in Romeoville, Ill.
 
Junior guard Justin Blanks (Barberton, OH/Norton) came off the bench to lead McKendree with 20 points. Blanks netted 15 of his points in the second half while adding six rebounds and there assists. Senior guards Michael Jackson (O'Fallon, IL/O'Fallon) and David Franklin (O'Fallon, IL/Althoff Catholic) each connected for 18 points, while freshman center Nolan Gerling (Germantown, IL/Mater Dei) chipped in with 15 points. Franklin finished with his second straight double-double as he pulled down a team-high 10 rebounds and handed out five assist against Saint Joseph's.
 
After McKendree held the lead in the early stages of play, building a 20-13 margin over the first seven minutes. Saint Joseph's chipped away at the deficit and used a 14-4 run to take a 34-25 lead with 7:32 left in the period. The Pumas stretched the margin to 45-30 just over two minutes later, which turned out to be their largest lead of the contest.
 
McKendree began its comeback over the closing minutes of the first half, scoring the final seven points of the period. A spectacular lay-up and free throw by Franklin with 7.1 seconds remaining helped the Bearcats pull within 47-43 at the intermission.
 
Baskets by Michael and Gerling to open the second half pushed the run to 11 consecutive points and enabled McKendree to pull even at 47-47. The game then saw two ties and five lead changes over the next seven minutes before the Bearcats looked to take control. Saint Joseph's held a slim 60-59 lead when McKendree reeled off 12 straight points to build a 71-60 advantage with 8:15 to play. Blanks was featured during the burst as he scored eight points, including the final six of the run.
 
A free throw by Jackson at the 6:55 mark helped McKendree take its largest lead of the day at 74-62. Saint Joseph's then turned up the pressure on the Bearcats and made one final run in the contest. The Pumas outscored McKendree 14-3 over the next three minutes to slash the Bearcats' lead to 77-76 with 3:24 on the clock. Then with 46.3 seconds to play, C.J. Hardaway scored on a lay-up to put Saint Joseph's in front one last time at 80-79.
 
On the ensuing possession for McKendree, the Bearcats missed a pair of shots from close range before Blanks grabbed the rebound and fired a pass across the lane to Jackson, who scored with 24.2 seconds left to push McKendree in front at 81-80. After Blanks made two free throws to stretch the Bearcats' lead to three points, Saint Joseph's called time out and looked to tie the game.
 
However, McKendree senior guard Kyle Yates (Bethalto, IL/Civic Memorial) stepped in front of the Pumas' Kindred Williams to take a charge with 7.2 seconds remaining to give the ball back to the Bearcats. Blanks then sealed the victory as he was fouled and made two more fouls shots with 6.1 seconds on the clock.
 
Eric Gillespie paced Saint Joseph's (9-10, 3-6 GLVC) with 23 points, while Hardway added 21 points, six assists and five rebounds. Williams flirted with a triple-double before ending the contest with 10 points, 11 rebounds and seven blocked shots for the Pumas.