LEBANON, Ill. – McKendree University men's basketball used a double-double of 27 points and 14 rebounds from junior guard Bryson Bultman (Nashville, Ill./Nashville) en route to earning a hard-fought 60-56 victory over Maryville University in Great Lakes Valley Conference action on Senior Day and Alumni Day at the Harry M. Statham Sports Center.
 
With the victory, McKendree extended its win streak to two straight games and improved its record to 13-8 overall and 9-8 in the GLVC, while Maryville dropped its fifth straight game to move its record to 10-15 overall and 4-13 in the league.
 
The double-double by Bultman was his second this season and fourth of his career, while the 27 points extended Bultman's double-digit scoring streak to 19 consecutive games and pushed him within 21 points of becoming the 52nd member of the school's 1,000-Point Club.
 
Prior to Saturday's game, the Bearcats honored its four-member senior class in a pregame ceremony. This year's seniors are guard Brendon Gooch (Belleville, Ill./SIU-Carbondale), guard CaRondis Harris-Anderson (Waterloo, Iowa/Waterloo West), forward Aleksa Popovic (Belgrade, Serbia/Cleveland State) and guard Oliver Stephen (Edwardsville, Ill./SWIC).
 
In addition to Bultman's 27 points, it was a second chance basket in the paint with 18 seconds left by sophomore guard Carson Parker (Nashville, Ill./Nashville) that gave the Bearcats its final lead of the game at 57-56. Parker's basket came after Kelvin Swims connected on shot in the paint with 1:35 left in the game to give Maryville a 56-55 lead.
 
Along with Bultman's double-double, Parker added eight points and four rebounds, while Gooch, Popovic and senior forward Luke Hensler (Okawville, Ill./SWIC) each had five points in the win.
 
The Bearcats, who led 34-22 at the half, struggled shooting the ball in the second half as they shot 32 percent (8-for-25) from the field and was 1-for-11 (9 percent) from the 3-point line and those struggled helped get Maryville back in the game as the Saints outscored the Bearcats, 34-26.
 
Maryville opened the second half on a 12-4 run to drop McKendree's lead to 36-32 with 14:16 left in the game. The Bearcats would come back and score six of the next eight points, including capping the flurry with a trey from Popovic to push out to a 42-34 lead with 13:18 remaining.
 
The Saints, though, answered with a 14-2 run capped by a 3-pointer from Jaeden Smith to take a 48-44 lead. The Saints would take its first lead of the game on a lay-up by Daniel Farris with 10:50 left in the game to give MU a 44-42 lead. Farris' basket capped a 10-0 run for the Saints. Farris would add a free throw on the play to give MU a 45-42 lead.
 
McKendree would come right back and use a 7-0 run capped by a lay-up from Bultman with 4:40 left in the game to give the Bearcats a 51-48 lead. Bultman scored six of the seven points during the run.
 
Maryville made one more push as they would score six straight points to push its lead to 54-51 with 2:23 left. Bultman would hit two free throws with 1:56 left to give the Bearcats at 55-54 lead, before Swims' basket gave the Saints their final lead of the game.
 
Following Parker's basket that put the Bearcats in front, Farris would miss a lay-up with seven seconds and on the rebound, Parker would get fouled and proceeded made two free throws with six seconds left to give McKendree a 59-56 lead. On MU's next trip down the court, Swims would miss the front end of a 1-and-1 free throw and Parker would collect the rebound and cap the scoring by making 1-of-2 free throws with two seconds left.
 
In the first half, McKendree shot 46 percent from the field and was 5-for-5 from the free throw line as they led 34-22 at the half. Bultman, Harris-Anderson and Hensler combined for 24 of McKendree's 34 first half points. Bultman had 14 of those points.
 
Maryville made only 32 percent of its field goals and 27 percent of its 3-pointers in the first half.
 
For the game, McKendree shot 39 percent from the field and just 23 percent from the 3-point line (6-for-26). The Bearcats entered the game fifth in the league in 3-point shooting at 37.1 percent on the season. Maryville finished the game shooting 39 percent from both the field and 3-point line.
 
Ari Jackson led the way for the Saints with 15 points and six rebounds, while Swims and Smith added 11 and 10 points respectively.
 
McKendree held a 37-33 edge on the glass and dished out 14 assists on 20 made baskets as Bultman had six and Stephen added five in the win.
 
The Bearcats committed 13 turnovers that led to 16 Maryville points, while Maryville had 10 turnovers and McKendree scored eight points off those turnovers.
 
McKendree was once again strong at the free throw line as they went 14-for-16 (87.5 percent) and have made 51 of its last 62 free throws (82.3 percent). MU was 5-for-9 (55.6 percent) at the line.
 
The Bearcats will look to extend its win streak to three straight games on Monday, Feb. 21 as they travel to Romeoville, Ill., for a 7:30 p.m. GLVC contest against Lewis University. The game was originally scheduled for Jan. 15 but was postponed due to COVID-19 issues in the Lewis program. Monday's game will be the second meeting this season between the two teams as Lewis earned a 78-62 win in Lebanon on Dec. 4.