(SPRINGFIELD, Mo., Feb. 9)—The McKendree University men's basketball team saw its two-game win streak come to an end Thursday evening with an 86-73 loss at Drury University. The contest marked the first in a six-game road trip for the Bearcats.
The host Panthers shot 66.7 percent in the second half to extend its seven-point halftime lead and pull away for the Great Lakes Valley Conference victory. McKendree moves to 9-12 on the year and is now 3-10 in GLVC play. The Bearcats will make the trip east on Interstate 44 for a Saturday match-up against Missouri S&T. Tip-off against the Miners is set for 3 p.m. in Rolla, Mo.
Junior guard
Justin Blanks (Barberton, OH/Norton) led all scorers with 23 points in the effort for McKendree. Senior guard
David Franklin (O'Fallon, IL/Althoff Catholic) chipped in with 17 points and a game-high nine rebounds, while senior guard
Michael Jackson (O'Fallon, IL/O'Fallon) connected for 14 points for the Bearcats.
Drury (14-8, 7-7 GLVC) never trailed in Thursday's battle, establishing a 14-7 lead eight minutes into action before Franklin drained a three-pointer to trim the Panthers' lead to 14-10 heading into the second media time out. The teams continued to exchange baskets before Drury grabbed its only double-digit lead of the period at 29-19 on a dunk by Joshua Palmer with just under two minutes left until the intermission. McKendree responded by netting the next five points, including a three-pointer from senior forward
Darin Winkelman (Steeleville, IL/Steeleville) on the Bearcats' final possession to cut the margin to 29-24. However, a basket just before the first-half buzzer sent Drury into the locker room with a 31-24 advantage at the break.
The momentum from the final score of the first half spilled into the second period as Drury reeled off the first eight points of the frame to extend its lead to 39-24 with 17:57 remaining. The Panthers slowly added to their cushion, taking their largest lead of the night at 72-49 with 7:26 to go. McKendree made a late charge at Drury, putting together a 12-2 run to slash the deficit to 74-61 at the 4:49 mark. Blanks scored half of the Bearcats' points during the spurt.
After Drury stretched its lead back to 20 points just moments later, McKendree closed the contest by outscoring the Panthers 9-2 over the final 1:40 of action.
Five different players scored in double figures for Drury, led by 20 points from Isaac Johnson. Palmer and Douglas Moore each added 14 points, while Tevin Foster contributed 10 points, five assists and three steals for the Panthers, who snapped a four-game losing streak with their win on Thursday.
