JACKSON, Tenn. - JACKSON, Tenn. – McKendree University men's basketball put five players in double figures and used a strong defensive effort to post an impressive 69-58 non-conference road win here Tuesday evening over Union University at Fred DeLay Gymnasium on the Union campus.
With the victory, McKendree extends its win streak to two straight games and moves its record to 2-2 on the season, while Union, who advanced to the semifinals of the last year's NCAA South Regional Tournament, falls to 3-2 on the year.
"I thought that was our best effort of the season so far. To go on the road against a team like Union and come away with a win is impressive. It was the epitome of what McKendree basketball wants to be known for," McKendree second-year head coach
George Suggs said following the game. "We were competitive on the defensive end and executed well. On the offensive end, we attacked every look they threw at us and were very efficient. Best of all, they did it with tremendous effort and passion."
Tuesday's win was keyed by an offensive attack that saw five players score in double figures and a defense that held the Bulldogs to 35 percent shooting from the field and a 2-for-20 effort (10 percent) from the 3-point line. It marked the first time this season that McKendree put five players in double figure scoring.
Leading the charge offensively was senior guard
Eric Powell II (Lexington, Ky./Asbury University) as he tallied 15 points, while three players – junior
Milos Vicentic (Belgrade, Serbia/OKK Belgrade), senior guard
Aleksandar Davitkov (Belgrade, Serbia/Partizan) and senior guard
Bryson Bultman (Nashville, Ill./Nashville) – each had 11 points and sophomore forward
Hayden Meakes (Adelaide, Australia/Adams State) tallied 10 points. Bultman added 12 rebounds for his first double-double this season and seventh of his career.
Along with five players scoring in double figures, the Bearcats offense shot 46 percent from the field, including shooting 50 percent from both the field and 3-point line in the second half, and 41 percent from 3-point line in the contest. McKendree hit 13 treys in the game and that marked the third time in four games this season that the Bearcats have made 10 or more treys in a game.
McKendree led for nearly the entire game on Tuesday night except for 26 seconds late in the first half when Union used two free throws from Jalen Johnson to turn a 23-22 Bearcat lead into a 24-23 advantage for the Bulldogs. That lead, which was the only one one of the game for Union, would be shortlived as the Bearcats closed the first half on a 5-2 run to take a 28-26 lead at the half.
The Bearcats would assert themselves offensively in the second half as they opened the period on a 16-7 run to turn its two-point lead into an 11-point advantage at 44-33 with 13:2 left in the game. The run was capped by back-to-back treys from Meakes.
Union, who is a member of the Gulf South Conference and won 24 games a season ago, responded with an 11-4 run capped by a dunk from Tylandrus Parks to pull within 48-44 with 8:56 remaining.
Once again, though, the Bearcats answered right back as they used a 17-6 scoring run over the next six minutes to push its lead to 65-54 with 2:43 left in the game. The run, which began with a lay-up from junior guard
Carson Parker (Nashville, Ill./Nashville) and was capped by a trey from Davitkov. Davitkov's trey forced Union to call a timeout.
Following the timeout, Parks would miss a trey for Union and on the other end of the floor, Bultman drew a foul and stepped to the line and made two free throws to give the Bearcats a 67-54 lead with 2:15 remaining.
Union would score four of the game's final six points to cap the scoring to seal McKendree's first road win of the 2022-23 season.
Parks paced three Union players in double figures with 18 points and added nine rebounds. In addition to Parks, Justin Debuck added 13 points and Boe Nguidjol posted a double-double of 10 points and 10 rebounds.
McKendree was outrebounded, 36-35, while Union won the turnover battle, 14-10. The Bulldogs scored 14 points off those 14 Bearcat turnovers.
The Bearcats were also outshot from the free throw line – 21-5, as Union finished the game 16-for-21 (76.2 percent) from the line and McKendree was just 4-for-5 (80 percent) at the line.
McKendree will look to win its third straight game this coming Saturday, Nov. 26 as they open Great Lakes Valley Conference play with a 3 p.m. game in Kirksville, Mo., against Truman State.
