(LEBANON, Ill., Jan. 7)—The McKendree University men's basketball team wrapped up its season-long eight-game home stand Saturday afternoon with a 95-79 loss in Great Lakes Valley Conference play to Truman State University.
 
The visiting Bulldogs connected on 57.8 percent of their field goal tries (37-of-64) and built a 17-point lead at the intermission on its way to the win. McKendree moves to 6-6 on the year and 0-4 in the GLVC. The Bearcats will hit the road next week for a pair of conference contests, beginning with a Thursday evening match-up at Rockhurst University in Kansas City. Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m.
 
Senior guard David Franklin (O'Fallon, IL/Althoff Catholic) led all scorers with 28 points for McKendree, 18 of which came in the second half. Sophomore guard Nate Michael (St. Joseph, IL/St. Joseph-Ogden) added 23 points in the effort, while freshman center Nolan Gerling (Germantown, IL/Mater Dei) helped out with 10 points and a season-high five assists for the Bearcats. Senior guard Michael Jackson (O'Fallon, IL/O'Fallon) posted nine points and a game-high seven rebounds in the contest.
 
The early moments of the first half featured five ties and four lead changes before Truman State (12-3, 4-1 GLVC) reeled off nine consecutive points to surge ahead to stay at 22-13 with 13:19 left in the period. A lay-up by Jackson at the 11:30 mark brought McKendree within 24-19 before the Bulldogs countered with a 19-2 run to extend their margin to 43-21 with just over five minutes remaining until halftime. Truman State pushed its lead to as many as 23 points before taking a 50-33 lead into the locker room.
 
After shooting 52.5 percent over the first 20 minutes, Truman State hit on 66.7 percent of its shots from the floor in the second half. However, McKendree chipped into the Bulldogs' lead several times throughout the period. The Bearcats rallied within 11 points on four different occasions, the last coming at 80-69 following a pair of free throws by Michael with 4:57 to play. Truman State scored the next five points and held off McKendree down the stretch to claim the win.
 
Jake Velky netted a team-leading 26 points to lead the way for Truman State. Connor Erickson added 18 points and three blocked shots, while Cory Myers contributed 15 points and a team-best three steals for the Bulldogs. Dwight Sistrunk, Jr., registered a double-double for Truman State with 11 points and a game-high 11 assists.
 
McKendree went 4-4 during its eight-game home stand. The games next week at Rockhurst and William Jewell College will be just the second and third road contests for the Bearcats during the 2016-17 season.