(ROMEOVILLE, Ill., Feb. 20) – The McKendree University men's basketball team defeated Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) opponent Lewis University 70-65 in Romeoville, Ill., Thursday night. The Bearcats are now 13-12 overall on the season and 8-9 in GLVC competition.
McKendree and Lewis battled back-and-forth to begin the game going basket-for-basket until the Flyers went on a seven-point run with seven minutes left to play in the half. The Bearcats were able to cut Lewis' lead to three on numerous occasions but weren't able to ever regain the lead. The Flyers took a 31-26 lead heading into halftime.
The Bearcats came out with intensity to begin the second half going on a nine-point unanswered run to take the lead 35-31 early on. McKendree was able to grow its lead to nine with eight minutes remaining in regulation but the Flyers scored eight straight to pull the game within one point 54-53. With four minutes left to play, the game remained tied 55-55, and it wasn't until two minutes left to go that the Bearcats regained the lead. McKendree remained on top for the rest of play, defeating Lewis 70-65.
Three Bearcats recorded double-digit points for McKendree. Senior guard
Logan Kohrmann (Bartelso, IL/Breese Central) led the way with 23 points, freshman forward
Bryson Bultman (Nashville, IL/Nashville) was next with 14, and sophomore forward
Aleksa Popovic (Belgrade, Serbia/BC Partizan Belgrade) rounded out the efforts with 10 points. Kohrmann was also a lead rebounder for the Bearcats with six total on the night while Popovic led the team in blocks with three. Senior forward
Nate Bethel (Nassau, Bahamas/St. Louis Christian Academy) was the team rebound leader with seven total on the night.
As a team, McKendree shot 42.9 percent from field goal range, 33.3 percent from behind the three point line, and 86.7 from the free throw line. The Bearcats were able to capitalize more on turnovers and collected more fast break points than the Flyers but Lewis was more of a threat than McKendree in the paint. The Bearcats bench was also a reason behind the win as they scored 18 points for McKendree while the Flyers' bench only scored eight points.
The Bearcats will return to campus for their final home contest of the 2019-20 season Saturday, Feb. 22 for a game against Illinois Springfield. McKendree will recognize its seniors before tip-off, which is scheduled for 3 p.m.
