(LOUISVILLE, Ky., Feb. 16)—The McKendree University men's basketball team dropped a 95-74 decision on Saturday to Bellarmine University, the No. 9-ranked team in the latest National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) Division II rankings.
 
The host Knights shot 66.7 percent in the first half (18-of-27) and pulled away in the second half to maintain a share of the Great Lakes Valley Conference lead. McKendree moves to 9-15 overall and 5-10 in conference play. The Bearcats will open up a three-game home stand next Saturday (Feb. 23) with a visit from the University of Illinois Springfield. The teams will meet in a 3 p.m. contest.
 
Three McKendree players reached double figures in the scoring column on Saturday against Bellarmine. Junior guard. Logan Kohrmann (Bartelso, IL/Breese Central) paced the trio with 18 points, hitting all six of his free throw attempts in the contest. Sophomore forward Jacob Donaldson (Effingham, IL/Effingham) netted 14 points along with a pair blocks, while senior guard Nate Michael (St. Joseph, IL/St. Joseph-Ogden) chipped in with 12 points. Junior center Nolan Gerling (Germantown, IL/Mater Dei) collected a team-leading six rebounds as junior guard Alijah Thomas (Des Moines, IA/Hoover) contributed a game-high five assists for the Bearcats.
 
Bellarmine (20-3. 11-3 GLVC) sprinted to a 10-3 lead in the first 3:17 of action. Kohrmann and Michael sandwiched three-pointers around a lay-up by the Knights' Alex Cook to help trim the deficit to 12-9 with just under 15 minutes left in the first half. Bellarmine then ripped off seven straight points to take its first double-digit lead at 19-9 and eventually pushed its margin to 38-21 with 2:55 remaining until halftime. McKendree regrouped down the stretched and closed the half with a 13-5 run to slash the margin back to single digits at 42-34 heading into the locker room.
 
The teams traded scores over the opening minutes of the second half before the Knights took control. Bellarmine outscored McKendree 18-2 over a five-minute stretch to extend its advantage to 66-40 with 12:55 to play. For the game, the Knights shot 65 percent from the floor (39-of-60) and held a 54-18 edge on points in the paint.
 
Ben Weyer registered game-high totals of 26 points and 10 rebounds to lead the way for Bellarmine. Adam Eberhard added 15 points and four assists, while Cook connected for 10 points for the Knights.
 
McKendree and Bellarmine will meet one more time this season on Thursday, Feb. 28 at the Statham Center in Lebanon.