(LEBANON, Ill., Jan. 13)—The McKendree University men's basketball team turned in one of its best offensive performances of the 2018-19 season Sunday evening on its way to a 92-67 win at home against the University of Missouri-St. Louis.
The Bearcats shot 54.1 percent from the field (33-of-61) and knocked down a season-best 14 three-point field goals to avenge an early-season loss at UMSL. McKendree also went 12-of-14 from the free throw line (86.7 percent) and committed just seven turnovers to improve to 7-7 on the season and 3-2 in Great Lakes Valley Conference play. The Bearcats will be at home again on Thursday to host Drury University in another conference tilt. Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m.
There was no lack of big offensive performances from McKendree on Sunday. Senior guard
Nate Michael (St. Joseph, IL/St. Joseph-Ogden) led the charge with 23 points, which included five three-pointers. Michael's fifth trifecta of the contest – which came with 7:51 to play – was the 200
th of his Bearcat career. He is the 10
th player in program history to connect on 200 three-pointers.
Sophomore guard
Carrington Bass (Floosmoor, IL/Crete-Monee) came off the bench to drop in a career-high as he went 3-for-3 from beyond the arc against the Tritons. Junior guard
Logan Kohrmann (Bartelso, IL/Breese Central) helped out with 12 points, five assists and four rebounds. Junior center
Nolan Gerling (Germantown, IL/Mater Dei), senior guard
Giovanni Offard (Freeport, IL/Freeport) and sophomore forward
Jacob Donaldson (Effingham, IL/Effingham) all chipped in with 11 points each. Offard narrowly missed out on a double-double for the Bearcats as he dished out a career-best nine assists in the win.
McKendree wasted little time in taking command of Sunday's contest against UMSL. The teams traded baskets in the opening minutes before the Bearcats scored 11 consecutive points to take the lead for good, 15-5, with 14:51 remaining in the first half. Moments later, McKendree put together a 15-2 burst – capped by consecutive three-pointers from Bass and Donaldson – to stretch the margin to 32-12 with 8:45 left in the period.
Over the final seven minutes McKendree managed to increase its lead to 21 points on three different occasions before taking a 48-28 advantage at the intermission. In the first half, the Bearcats shot 62.5 percent (20-of-32) from the floor, including an 8-for-16 clip from three-point range. McKendree also took care of the basketball in the first 20 minutes of action, committing just two turnovers.
The Bearcats added to their lead in the second half, taking their largest lead of the night at 76-46 on Michael's milestone three-pointer at the 7:51 mark. Sunday's 25-point margin of victory against UMSL is the second-highest of the season for McKendree, topped only by a 97-60 win over Eureka College back on Dec. 19.
In addition, the Bearcats were able to gain a season split of the two-game series with the Tritons. UMSL won the first meeting 87-55 back on Nov. 29 in St. Louis.
Jason Towery and Johnathan Matthews shared team-high scoring honors for UMSL (12-4, 3-3 GLVC) with 10 points each. Steve Webb pulled down a game-high seven rebounds for the Tritons.
