EVANSVILLE, Ill. – McKendree University men's basketball picked up its second consecutive victory here Monday evening as the Bearcats picked up a come-from-behind 77-71 win in Great Lakes Valley Conference action over the University of Southern Indiana at Screaming Eagles Arena.
 
With the win, McKendree wins its second straight game and improves its record to 7-4 overall and 3-4 in the GLVC, while USI falls to 7-4 overall and 2-3 in the league. The win also helped the Bearcats extract some revenge on the Screaming Eagles as USI picked up a 68-55 win over McKendree in Lebanon, Ill., on Jan. 2 and snap a three-game losing skid against the Screaming Eagles.
 
Monday's game was the first for the Bearcats since they picked up a 74-73 home win over then 16th-ranked Truman State on Jan. 8 as their previous two games were canceled due to COVID-19 protocols.
 
McKendree's victory was keyed by a season high 49 second half points and five players scoring in double figures, including junior guard Bryson Bultman (Nashville, Ill./Nashville) leading the way with a team-high 17 points. Bultman has now scored in double figures in nine straight games.
 
In addition to Bultman's 17 points, redshirt senior guard Brendon Gooch (Belleville, Ill./SIU-Carbondale) added 13 points and a season high 14 rebounds for his second straight double-double, while senior forward Luke Hensler (Okawville, Ill./SWIC) tallied 13 points in the win.
 
The other two double-digit scorers were redshirt senior guard Oliver Stephen (Edwardsville, Ill./SWIC) and sophomore guard Carson Parker (Nashville, Ill./Nashville) added 12 points.
 
McKendree's strong second half was keyed by 56 percent shooting from the field and a 23-16 edge on the glass and 12 points off eight USI turnovers.
 
The Bearcats, who trailed 38-28 at the half, opened the second half 15-3 run that gave the Bearcats a 43-41 lead following a lay-up by junior guard Aleksandar Davitkov (Belgrade, Serbia/Partizan) with just a little over five minutes into the second half. McKendree tied the game at 41 on two free throws by Gooch with 14:50 left.
 
McKendree's run was keyed by two treys from Stephen and four points from Gooch.
 
Following Davitkov's lay-up, USI's Isaiah Swope hit 1-of-2 free throws with 14:13 left in the game to drop McKendree's lead to 43-42.
The Bearcats would respond with a 14-10 run over the next six-plus minutes to push out to a 57-52 lead with 7:59 left in the game. The run began with a free throw from senior forward Aleksa Popovic (Belgrade, Serbia/Cleveland State) and was capped by two free throws from Parker.
 
USI, though, would answer back with a 10-4 run to give the Screaming Eagles a 62-61 lead following a lay-up by Jacob Polakovich with 3:54 left in the game.
 
Bultman would score on a lay-up 20 seconds after Polakovich's lay-up to help the Bearcat retake the lead at 63-62. Bultman's lay-up key an 8-3 run by the Bearcats to push its lead to 71-65 with 1:50 remaining. The run was capped by a trey from Hensler.
 
Tyler Henry would stop the Bearcats run with two free throws with 59 seconds left to pull USI within 71-67, but the Bearcats would close the game by hitting six of its final 10 free throws to seal the six-point Bearcat win.
 
USI used 49 percent shooting from the field and 11 McKendree turnovers that led to 12 points for the Screaming Eagles to take its 38-28 lead at the half.
 
McKendree scored the first points of the game on a trey by Stephen just 46 seconds into the game, before USI would score 16 of the next 20 points to push in front 16-7 just nine-plus minutes into the game.
 
The Bearcats would score seven of the next 11 points to drop USI's lead to 19-14, before the Screaming Eagles used a 17-10 run to push out to a 36-24 lead with 1:58 left in the opening half. Parker and Bultman scored four of the half's final six points to cut USI's halftime lead to 10 points.
 
Henry and Swope each paced the Screaming Eagles with 19 points each, while Polakovich added a double-double of 17 points and 12 rebounds. In fact, those three players combined to score 55 of USI's 71 points.
 
The Bearcats held a 39-38 advantage on the boards as along with Gooch's 14 boards, Bultman added seven boards, while Davitkov and Parker each had six boards.
 
McKendree committed 16 turnovers but had only five in the second half and those 16 turnovers led to 16 points for USI. The Screaming Eagles had 12 turnovers that led to 16 points for the Bearcats.
 
Both teams struggled from the free throw line as McKendree was 17-for-31 (54.8 percent) from the line, including going 14-for-25 from the line in the second half, while USI was 12-for-22 (55 percent) from the line.
 
The Bearcats will look to make it three straight wins this coming Thursday, Jan. 20 as they host Quincy University for a 7:30 p.m. GLVC match-up at the Harry M. Statham Sports Center in Lebanon, Ill.