(EVANSVILLE, Ind., Feb. 18)—The McKendree University men's basketball team gave the University of Southern Indiana all it could handle in the second half before dropping an 81-67 decision in Evansville, Ind.
 
The Screaming Eagles, ranked No. 14 in the latest National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) Division II coaches poll, built a 19-point lead in the later stages of the first half before McKendree trimmed the deficit to just five points early in the final period. The Bearcats' rally came up just short as Southern Indiana pulled away down the stretch to notch the Great Lakes Valley Conference win.
 
McKendree is now 9-16 overall and 3-14 in GLVC play. The Bearcats will close out the 2016-17 regular season on Thursday in Springfield, Ill., with a league contest against the University of Illinois Springfield. Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m. McKendree will be among the teams battling for the final GLVC Tournament berth. First-round games for the GLVC Tournament will be held on Feb. 26 at campus sites.
 
Senior guard Michael Jackson (O'Fallon, IL/O'Fallon) registered a team-leading 21 points and three steals while adding five rebounds to show the way for McKendree at Southern Indiana. Junior guard Justin Blanks (Barberton, OH/Norton) came off the bench to add 14 points and six rebounds, while senior guard David Franklin (O'Fallon, IL/Althoff Catholic) helped out with 11 points and team-leading totals of seven rebounds and five assists for the Bearcats.
 
Southern Indiana (25-2, 15-2 GLVC) led throughout the contest, building a double-digit advantage eight minutes into play. The Screaming Eagles used a 9-0 run to take its largest lead of the afternoon at 44-25 with just over five minutes remaining until halftime. McKendree then limited the hosts to just one basket over the final five minutes of the period, closing the half on a 10-2 run to slash the deficit to 46-35 at the intermission. Southern Indiana, which shot above 60 percent for most of the half, connected on 59.4 percent of its tries (19-of-32) in the first 20 minutes of action.
 
McKendree remained the aggressor at the outset of the second half, scoring the first six points out of the locker room to pull within 46-41 with 17:33 to play. Jackson scored on consecutive lay-ups before sophomore guard Nate Michael (St. Joseph, IL/St. Joseph-Ogden) added a pair of free throws during the spurt. The teams traded baskets for the next few minutes before Southern Indiana regained a double-digit advantage. The Screaming Eagles managed to hold off the Bearcats over the final 10 minutes of play to complete the season sweep of the divisional rivals.
 
Alex Stein paced Southern Indiana with a game-high 27 points along with seven rebounds and six assists. Jeril Taylor – the GLVC's leading scorer – chipped in with 14 points and nine rebounds, while DayJar Dickson and Bobo Drummond each added 12 points for the Screaming Eagles. Saturday's win was the sixth in a row for Southern Indiana.