(LEBANON, Ill., Feb. 1) – The McKendree University men's basketball team dropped Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) contest to No. 15 Missouri-St. Louis 77-68. The Bearcats are now 11-9 overall on the season and 6-6 in GLVC competition.

McKendree remained competitive with nationally ranked UMSL throughout the entire first half. The Bearcats faced an eight point deficit in the largest point spread of the half but were able to overcome it with back-to-back three pointers and a pair of free throws to tie the game up 23-23. At halftime, the Bearcats were down by two, 33-31 to the Tritons.

Senior forward Nate Bethel (Nassau, Bahamas/St. Louis Christian Academy) opened the second half with a made layup to tie the game up 33-33 and gain momentum for the Bearcats. With 15 minutes left to play, McKendree took the lead 44-42. From there the lead changed seven times with the Tritons coming out victorious 77-68.

Senior guard Logan Kohrmann (Bartelso, IL/Breese Central) recorded a double-double in the loss leading the Bearcats in both points scored and rebounds with 27 points and 11 rebounds. Freshman guard Bryson Bultman (Nashville, IL/Nashville) also tallied double-digit points for McKendree with 13 points in the game. Freshman forward Jakobie Robinson (Indianapolis, IN/Warren Central) was another impact player for the Bearcats with seven points and seven rebounds.

As a team, McKendree recorded higher shooting percentages than the Tritons at field goal range, behind the three point line, and at the free throw line. The Bearcats shot 53.2 percent from field goal range, 41.2 percent from behind the three, and was 91.7 percent at the free throw line while the Tritons only managed 51 percent at field goal range, 40.9 at the three point line, and just 57.1 at the free throw line.

UMSL was able to capitalize on turnovers and second chance opportunities to get ahead of the Bearcats, scoring 23 points off of turnovers and 16 points off of second chance opportunities while McKendree score 15 off of turnovers and seven on second chances. The Tritons bench also played a role in UMSL's victory with 26 points compared to the Bearcats bench that had 12.

McKendree will continue its four game road stint with a contest at Missouri S&T on Thursday, Feb. 6 in Rolla, Mo. and with a game at Maryville on Saturday, Feb. 8 in St. Louis, Mo. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. on Thursday and 3:00 p.m. on Saturday.