DeKALB, Ill. – McKendree University men's basketball used a strong second half here on Halloween night as the Bearcats outscored Northern Illinois 46-40 en route to falling just short of an upset of the NCAA Division I Huskies in an exhibition contest at the NIU Convocation Center. NIU won the game, 79-76. 
 
"Credit to Northern Illinois, one for playing against us and having a really good game against them. I think this game is going be great for us as on one end, it shows how good we can be and in the first half, how much we can improve," McKendree head coach George Suggs said following the game that came down to the final possession. "There are a lot of takeaways from tonight, mostly a lot of positive things. We have a lot of great players that were disappointed to lose tonight, which when you're looking at exhibitions that don't count against your record, to have a team that is so competitive that is fighting like that to win like that is really awesome thing."
 
Junior forward Milos Vicentic (Belgrade, Serbia/OKK Belgrade) led the way offensively in Monday's exhibition contest as he finished with a game-high 32 points, added 12 rebounds and five assists. Vicentic scored 21 of those points in the second half.
 
"It is a credit to how hard Milos has worked. He's had a couple of years in this program and he's had to work hard for playing time, but good things come to those who wait," Suggs said when asked about Vicentic's performance. "That is the nice thing about this team this season as we have a lot of players that are going to be able to step up when needed."
 
In addition to Vicentic, senior guard Bryson Bultman (Nashville, Ill./Nashville) added a double-double of 14 points and 13 rebounds and also had six assists. The third double-digit scorer for the Bearcats was senior guard Eric Powell II (Lexington, Ky./Asbury University) as he finished with 13 points.
 
After trailing by as much as 13 points early in the second half, the Bearcats used a 25-7 run over a span of nearly five-plus minutes to turn a 45-32 deficit into a 57-52 lead just eight minutes into the half. The run was aided by 13 points from Bultman and capped by a 3-pointer and a lay-up from sophomore guard/forward Caleb Zurliene (Aviston, Ill./Purdue Northwest).
 
After shooting just 25 percent from the field in the first half to help NIU to its 39-30 at the half, the Bearcats opened the second half making 11 of its first 15 shots, including five of its first nine 3-pointers. For the second half, the Bearcats shot 58 percent from the field and 41 percent from the 3-point line.
 
Following that second half by the Bearcats, NIU, who is a member of the Mid-American Conference (MAC), used a 5-0 run to tie the game at 57, but a 5-2 flurry by McK helped the Bearcats retake the lead at 62-59 following a 3-point play from Vicentic.
 
NIU, though, would mount a charge as they used a 14-2 run over a span of nearly five minutes to retake the lead at 73-64 with 4:43 left in the contest. The run was aided by back-to-back treys from David Coit and capped by two free throws from Anthony Crump.
 
McKendree wouldn't go away as they responded with a 7-0 run capped by a lay-up from junior guard Carson Parker (Nashville, Ill./Nashville) to pull within 73-71 with 2:30 remaining.
 
NIU would once again score five of the next six points to push its lead to 78-72 with 1:08 left, but the Bearcats used one-of-two free throws from Bultman and a trey from Vicentic in the final 43 seconds to move within two points at 78-76 with eight seconds left.
 
Following Vicentic's trey, NIU's Coit would get fouled with 3.3 seconds and he stepped the line and made just one of his two free throws to give NIU a 79-76 lead. The missed free throw allowed the Bearcats to get a final chance to tie the game and force overtime. The Bearcatrs, though, would turn the ball over near midcourt as Bultman stepped out of bounds with less than two seconds left to seal the Huskies' win.
 
Keshawn Williams led four NIU players in double figures with 23, including scoring 19 of those points after halftime. In addition to Williams, Zarique Nutter added 19 points, while Coit scored 13 and Crump tallied 10 points and eight boards.
 
The Bearcats scored the first two points of the game on a lay-up 94 seconds into the contest from Vicentic and led 12-11 following another lay-up by Vicentic with 10:26 left in the opening half, before NIU 10-2 run capped by a lay-up from Nutter to take a 22-14 lead with 7:21 left in the half.
 
NIU would extend its lead to as much as 12 points at 31-19 with three minutes left in the opening half, before the Bearcats used an 11-4 run capped by a three-point play from Vicentic with 1:07 left to pull within 35-30.
 
"I thought their athleticism bothered us a little bit. They have big shot blockers at the rim and I thought we tried to play a little faster than were comfortable with and then in the second half, you saw us settle in really playing McKendree Basketball," added Suggs, who is in his second season as the Bearcats' coach.
 
On the game, McKendree held a 47-36 advantage on the boards, including a 14-5 edge on the offensive glass that led to 17 second chance points. NIU did not have any second chance points in the game.
 
For the game, McKendree ended up shooting 40 percent from the field, but just 28 percent (9-for-32) from the 3-point line. Additionally, the Bearcats struggled at the free throw line as they went 13-for-21 (62 percent), including going just 3-for-8 (37.5 percent) at the line in the second half.
 
NIU would finish the night shooting 48 percent from the field and 28 percent from the 3-point line. The Huskies also were 17-for-25 (68 percent) at the line, including going 13-for-18 at the line in the second half as the Bearcats whistled for 13 fouls.
 
McKendree also had 17 assists on 27 made baskets and committed 17 turnovers, while NIU had 16 assists on 29 made baskets and committed only 11 turnovers, including just three after halftime.
 
The Bearcats also blocked five shots, including two from Bultman and outscored the Huskies, 36-34 in the paint.
 
McKendree will now turn its attention to the regular season as they open the 2022-23 season next weekend (Nov. 12-13) at the GLVC/GLIAC Crossover hosted by Michigan Tech University in Houghton, Mich. The Bearcats will open the season on Nov. 12 at 11 a.m. CT against Northern Michigan, before facing Michigan Tech on Nov. 13 at 1 p.m. CT.