SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – McKendree University men's basketball suffered a 75-73 setback to Drury University on Thursday evening at the O'Reilly Family Event Center in Springfield, Mo. The Bearcats move to 6-6 on the season and 2-3 in the Great Lakes Valley Conference.
 
McKendree held the lead for 36 total minutes of the game, even extending its lead to as much as 12 points with nine minutes left in the second half, though a late-game scoring surge from the Panthers would close the gap in the final minutes.
 
In the last seven minutes of the contest, Drury's freshman guard Logan Applegate netted 12 of his season-high 31 points to help push the Panthers to the late lead. Two free throws from junior guard Quenton Shelton sealed the 75-73 win for Drury with just seconds left.
 
McKendree shot 55 percent from the field while Drury shot only 44 percent in addition to netting 80 percent of free throws while the Panthers hit only 63 percent of shots from the foul stripe. Both teams were locked at 50 percent from the three-point line, shooting 9-for-18.
 
The Bearcats were led by senior guard Bryson Bultman, who recorded his third double-double of the season with a season-high 25 points and season-high-tying 12 rebounds in addition to a game-high six assists. Bultman was 8-for-13 from the field, 2-for-4 from beyond the arc, and 7-for-8 at the foul stripe. 
 
Also in double-digits for McKendree was junior forward Miloš Vicentic with 19 points and senior guard Eric Powell II who netted 12 points. Vicentic and Powell accounted for six of the Bearcats' nine three-pointers as each shot 3-for-5 from downtown.
 
Snapping McKendree's two-game win streak, Drury improves to 5-8 on the season and 1-4 in the GLVC with the home-court victory.
 
Drury was led by Applegate's 31 points as the freshman was 11-for-15 from the field, 5-for-6 from the three-point line, and 4-for-6 at the foul stripe. Sophomore guard Brock Wakefield and Shelton added 14 and 10 points, respectively.
 
The Bearcats continue GLVC play on Saturday, Jan. 7 on the road in Rolla, Mo. in a 3 p.m. game at Missouri S&T.