(BOLIVAR, Mo. – Feb. 6) – The McKendree University men's basketball team closed out their weekend with back-to-back victories. Chris Foster's team picks up their sixth win of the season after defeating Southwest Baptist 77-64.

McKendree capitalized on the slow start from Southwest Baptist in their first matchup of the season, Saturday afternoon. A good look under the net by Aleksa Popovic (Belgrade, Serbia/BC Partizan Belgrade), followed by a three-pointer in the next possession would spark a 17-2 lead just six minutes into the game. McKendree built their way to a 20-point lead halfway through the first half. The Bearcats took a 38-26 lead into halftime. Oliver Stephen (Edwardsville, IL/Edwardsville) would open the second half for the Bearcats with a jumper from beyond the arc, to keep his team ahead by nine. The difference between the Bearcats came down to six when a five-point play worked in favor for McKendree to keep the game under their control.

Alijah Thomas (Des Moines, IA/Hoover) led the way for his team with 19 points on the afternoon, going 7-for-9 from the floor, 3-for-4 from the arc, and 2-for-3 from the line. Bryson Bultman (Nashville, IL/Nashville) recorded his first double-double of the season with 18 points and 11 rebounds. Bultman was 50.0 percent form the floor and 6-for-6 from the line. Jacob Donaldson (Effingham, IL/Effingham) landed 11 points, going 4-for-6 from the floor and 3-for-5 from the arc.

McKendree will be back in the Harry M. Statham Center for their next week of competition. They will face see Southwest Baptist again, on Tuesday, Feb. 9 at 6:00 PM.