LEBANON, Ill. – McKendree University men's basketball made history here Monday evening as the seventh-seeded Bearcats led 40-18 at the half en route to earning an impressive 77-40 victory over 10th-seeded Quincy University in a first round game of the 2022 Great Lakes Valley Conference Basketball Tournament at the Harry M. Statham Sports Center.
 
The win was first-ever postseason victory for the Bearcats in the school's Division II era (2012-present) and snapped a three-game losing streak for the Bearcats entering the postseason and advances the Bearcats to a quarterfinal round game on Thursday, March 3 against No. 2 seeded Lewis University at First Community Arena on the campus of SIUE in Edwardsville, Ill. The game with Lewis will the third meeting between the two GLVC East Division foes this season as Lewis earned a 78-62 win in Lebanon on Dec. 4 and picked up a 70-62 win last Monday in Romeoville, Ill.  

"Lewis is a truly great team. They are tough and hard-nosed. They have been a power in our conference for a long time and it is a tremendous challenge for this group," McKendree head coach George Suggs said about Thursday's quarterfinal game with Lewis. "I hope to see the McKendree community show up to support this group in a big way on Thursday in Edwardsville."
 
Monday's win improved the Bearcats record to 14-11 overall, while Quincy closes its 2021-22 campaign with a 15-16 record.
 
The 37-point margin of victory was the largest for the Bearcats since collecting a 44-point win of 105-61 over Principia College on Nov. 23, 2019, while the 40 points are the fewest allowed by the Bearcats in a game since allowing 42 points to Illinois-Springfield in a 66-42 win over the Prairie Stars on Feb. 16, 2021.
 
In Monday's game, which was just the third-ever GLVC Tournament game in school history for the Bearcats, McKendree put four players in double figures and their defense held the Hawks to 19 percent shooting from the field and 18 percent shooting from the 3-point line as Quincy was 11-for-58 from the field and 5-for-28 from the 3-point line for the game.

"That was a tremendous team win today. With how tough of a schedule we have played, to show up like that tonight is incredible," Suggs said. "After the game, I told them that they were the first team to ever win a GLVC Tournament game at McKendree and that is something that can never be taken away from them. For them to do it in such a convincing way makes me so proud as a coach."
 
Junior guard Bryson Bultman (Nashville, Ill./Nashville) led the way offensively with 13 points, seven rebounds and seven assists, while senior forward Aleksa Popovic (Belgrade, Serbia/Cleveland State) added 12 points off the bench and redshirt senior guard Oliver Stephen (Edwardsville, Ill./SWIC) and sophomore forward Milos Vicentic (Belgrade, Serbia/OKK Belgrade) each tallied 10 points in the win.
 
For the game, four other Bearcats scored between six and eight points, including redshirt senior guard Brendon Gooch (Belleville, Ill./SIU-Carbondale) scoring eight points and having five boards.
 
The Bearcats also held a 56-26 edge on the boards as sophomore guard Carson Parker (Nashville, Ill./Nashville) pulled down a career high 14 boards and those 14 boards are tied for the most in a game this season, while Bultman and senior forward Luke Hensler (Okawville, Ill./SWIC) each had seven boards. The 30 board edge was the largest for the Bearcats since holding a +33 edge (62-29) on the boards against Central Christian on Dec. 4, 2017.

McKendree jumped in front 13-2 a little over six-plus minutes into the game and after QU used a 5-2 run to cut the Bearcats lead to 15-7, the Bearcats would close the half on a 25-11 run to cruise to a 40-18 lead at the half. The 18 points by Quincy are the fewest allowed in a half this season by the Bearcats.
 
In the first half, the Bearcats shot 47 percent from the field and 50 percent from the 3-point line and got five or more points from five different players, including Gooch leading the way with eight points, while Bultman and Stephen each had seven points.
 
The Bearcats would open the second half on a 17-4 run to push its lead to 57-22 with 11:19 left in the game. The run began with a trey from Stephen and was capped by a lay-up from Bultman.
 
QU, who closed the season winning three of its final five games, stopped the Bearcat run with a trey from Charles Callier with 10:35 remaining in the game. Following Callier's trey, the Bearcats would push its lead to as much as 46 points at 75-29 following a 3-pointer by Vicentic with 3:54 left in the game.
 
The Hawks closed the game scoring 11 of the final 13 points to set the final margin.
 
Silas Crisler paced Quincy with a team-high 11 points and six rebounds off the bench, while Paul Zilinskas added nine points and Callier tallied eight points.
 
For the game, McKendree shot 48 percent from the field and was 9-for-20 (45 percent) from the 3-point line.
 
The Bearcats were also 12-for-13 (92 percent) from the free throw line, while QU went 13-for-16 (81 percent) at the line.
 
McKendree dished out 14 assists and blocked four shots, while QU had three blocks and four assists.
 
The Bearcats lost the turnover battle (15-7) but held a 38-8 edge in points in the paint and scored 13 points off QU's seven turnovers.