(LEBANON, Ill., Jan. 10)—The McKendree University men's basketball team slipped to 6-7 on the season following a 65-50 loss Thursday evening at home against Maryville University.
The Bearcats were held to a season-low in points as the visiting Saints gained a split of the regular-season series between the two programs. McKendree, which is now 2-2 in Great Lakes Valley Conference play, will play host to the University of Missouri-St. Louis Saturday afternoon at 3 p.m.
Junior guards
Logan Kohrmann (Bartelso, IL/Breese Central) and
Alijah Thomas (Des Moines, IA/Hoover), along with sophomore guard
Carrington Bass (Floosmoor, IL/Crete-Monee), shared team-high scoring accolades for McKendree with eight points each. Senior guard
Nate Michael (St. Joseph, IL/St. Joseph-Ogden) added seven points and matched a career-high by grabbing nine rebounds for the second consecutive outing. Junior center
Nolan Gerling (Germantown, IL/Mater Dei) helped out with six points and six rebounds as sophomore forward
Jacob Donaldson (Effingham, IL/Effingham) also netted six points in the contest for the Bearcats.
Maryville (6-8, 1-4 GLVC) broke out to a quick 9-2 lead before McKendree answered with a 9-2 run of its own to pull even at 11-11 midway through the first half. The Saints responded by scoring the next 11 points to jump out to a 22-11 advantage with 5:36 remaining until halftime. The visitors stretched the lead to as many as 14 points in the period before McKendree closed the half in strong fashion. Bass connected on back-to-back three-pointers that sparked a 9-2 run to end the period, bringing the Bearcats within 29-22 at the intermission.
In the opening moments of the second half, McKendree got within 31-25 on a three-pointer from Michael with 19:29 to play. The Bearcats remained within striking distance before Maryville took control thanks to a 12-0 run to build a 56-37 lead with just over six minutes on the clock.
Robin Thompson led Maryville with a double-double of 19 points and a game-high 10 rebounds. Zach Colletta added 18 points, while Casey Teson led all players with five assists for the Saints.
McKendree won the first contest this season against Maryville, 84-83, back on Dec. 1 in St. Louis.
