(DES MOINES, IA – Dec. 9) – The McKendree University men's basketball team had their first non-conference game of the season and fell to the undefeated Drake program, 66-90.

Chris Foster's team started off the game exceptionally well from the beyond the arc, moving the ball around the perimeter against the undefeated Drake team. The three-point shots were falling for McKendree, going 4-4 in the first five minutes of the contest, ultimately shooting 42.3 percent (11-for-26) from the arc. Trying to cut a nine-point lead, the Bearcats would steal and sink back-to-back buckets. A layup by Jacob Donaldson (Effingham, IL/Effingham) from Aleksandar Davitkov (Belgrade, Serbia/Partizan) would put them within three and force Drake to take a timeout, with 4:28 left in the first half.

Turnovers and missed shots would hinder the Bearcats early in the second half.. Foster's encouragement from the bench would motivate his players to keep putting up shots and figuring out new ways to score. They would post a 33.33 shooting percentage in the second half, and an overall game 38.1 shooting percentage.

Senior Oliver Stephen (Edwardsville, IL/Edwardsville) led the way for the Bearcats with 11 points with a 66.7 shooting percentage. Right behind him were Bryson Bultman (Nashville, IL/Nashville) and Brendon Gooch (Belleville, IL/Althoff ), who both added 10 points apiece. Bultman went 2-for-2 in three-point attempts, while Gooch shot 66.7 percent in three-point attempts.

Drake gave it up in turnovers but were able to comeback with their rebound presence. The Bulldogs went on an 8-0 point run to force the Bearcats to take a timeout with a little over 13 minutes left in the first half. They led by as many as nine in the first 20 minutes of action, but the Bearcats would get within three before Drake called a timeout with less than five minutes in the first half. They would come out attacking the paint to increase their lead before the halfway point, with the 45-36 lead.

The Bulldogs would come out strong to start the second half and build to a 57-45 lead over the Bearcats, forcing a timeout with 15:22 left in the game. Their biggest lead of the game was 28 points in the second half, and move to 5-0 on the season.

ShanQuan Hemphill was at the top of the scoring chart for Drake, recording 23 points, with an 84.6 shooting percentage and six rebounds. Also scoring in double figures were Roman Renn with 13 points and Darnell Brodie with 10 points.

The next step on McKendree's road trip will be to Evansville, Ind. to face the University of Southern Indiana. The Bearcats will face the Screaming Eagles at 3:00 (CT) on Saturday, Dec. 12 in the Screaming Eagles Arena.