(LEBANON, Ill., Feb. 8)—The McKendree University men's basketball team kicked off its final home stand of the regular season with an 87-66 loss Thursday evening against Bellarmine University.
The Bearcats built a nine-point lead in the later stages of the first half against the visiting Knights. But Bellarmine, the No. 7-ranked team in the latest National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) Division II poll, edged out to a four-point lead at the half and shot 55.6 percent over the final 20 minutes to pull away for the victory.
McKendree slips to 11-12 overall and is now 2-11 in Great Lakes Valley Conference play. The Bearcats will welcome Rockhurst University into the Harry M. Statham Sports Center Saturday afternoon for another GLVC tilt that is set for a 3 p.m. tip-off. Saturday will also mark Senior Day for the program as guards Gianni Otto and Justin Blanks will be honored in a pre-game ceremony.
Blanks knocked down a game-high 24 points Thursday evening against Bellarmine. Junior guard Nate Michael helped out by scoring 16 of his 19 points in the first half, while sophomore center Nolan Gerling pulled down a team-best nine rebounds for the Bearcats. Michael and junior forward Malcolm Mabry each handed out four assists in the contest for McKendree.
In the first half, Michael helped spark McKendree to an early lead. Michael drilled a pair of three-pointers before the first media timeout and scored 10 of the Bearcats' first 15 points of the night. A jumper by Blanks was followed by a three-pointer from junior guard Nate Bethel as McKendree was able to extend its lead to 20-12 with just under 12 minutes remaining in the opening period. After Bellarmine trimmed the deficit to just one point, Michael drained a three-pointer from the top of the key and was fouled. He converted the rare four-point play to fuel a 10-2 run that gave McKendree its largest lead of the game at 32-23 with 7:04 left until halftime.
Bellarmine (21-2, 12-2 GLVC) chipped away at the deficit and took its first lead of the night at 39-38 with less than three minutes to go in the half. McKendree battled back within a point before a trio of free throws pushed the Knights' lead to 44-40 at the break.
At the outset of the second half, Bellarmine hit its first six shots from the field to stretch its lead to double digits. The lead grew to as many as 14 points before a three-pointer from Michael and a lay-up from Blanks shaved the Bearcats' deficit to 67-58 midway through the period. The Knights then took control thanks to an 11-2 run to build an 18-point advantage.
Brent Bach paced Bellarmine with 21 points, while Alex Cook posted 18 points, four assists and a game-high four blocked shots. Adam Eberhard flirted with a triple-double for the Knights before finishing the contest with eight points, eight assists and a game-high 10 rebounds.
