(LEBANON, Ill., Jan. 31)—The McKendree University men's basketball team began a two-game home stand Thursday night with an 86-62 loss to the University of Indianapolis at the Statham Center.
The visiting Greyhounds shot nearly 59 percent in the first half in building a 21-point lead it would not relinquish. The Bearcats move to 8-11 overall and 4-6 in Great Lakes Valley Conference action. McKendree will wrap up its home stand Saturday afternoon by playing host to Lewis University. Tip-off is slated for 1 p.m.
Junior guard
Logan Kohrmann (Bartelso, IL/Breese Central) paced McKendree with 16 points, including a perfect 6-for-6 effort from the free throw line. Junior center
Nolan Gerling (Germantown, IL/Mater Dei) chipped in with 13 points, hitting 6-of-8 shots from the field. Both Korhmann and Gerling grabbed eight rebounds to share team-high honors for the Bearcats. Junior guard
Alijah Thomas (Des Moines, IA/Hoover) handed out five assists in the effort for McKendree.
Indianapolis (14-5, 7-2 GLVC) opened Thursday's game on a 12-4 run over the first 3:35 of play. Following a timeout, McKendree used a lay-up from Kohrmann and a three-pointer by sophomore guard
Carrington Bass (Floosmoor, IL/Crete-Monee) in scoring five of the next seven points to rally within 14-9 with 14:42 left in the period. The Greyhounds eventually stretched the margin to double digits midway through the half. Indianapolis slowly increased its lead, hitting 20-of-34 shots from the field (58.8 percent) over the first 20 minutes to take a 48-27 lead at the intermission.
In the second half the teams played even, although McKendree made a run in the later stages of the period. Kohrmann scored five points during a 9-2 spurt that helped the Bearcats cut the deficit to 72-58 with 5:48 remaining. The Greyhounds responded with an 11-0 run of its own to regain an 83-58 advantage at the 2:14 mark.
Four players scored in double figures for Indianapolis, led by a 21 points effort from Marcus Latham. Trevor Lakes and Jimmy King each connected for 16 points as Jacob Polakovich notched a double-double for the Greyhounds with 10 points and a game-high 11 rebounds.
