LEBANON, Ill. - The men's basketball team could not come away with a win against No.22 Lake Superior State University as part of the McKendree DII Classic presented by State Farm on Friday, November 22nd, at the Harry M. Statham Sports Center in Lebanon, Illinois. 

Earlier in the day, the University of Alabama in Huntsville beat the University of Missouri-St. Louis, 74-63 in the classic. 

Score: McKendree University 61, Lake Superior State University 72 

Record: Bearcats 3-3, 0-0 GLVC | Lakers 6-1, 0-0 GLIAC 

HOW IT HAPPENED

Both teams began the game trading buckets against each other as senior guards Destin Whitaker (Romeoville, Ill.) and Kevin Stein (Chester, N.Y.) as well as sophomore guard Justin King (Mascoutah, Ill.) each buried a three-pointer with senior guard Joey Niesman driving in for a layup to put McKendree up by one point. Lake Superior State answered with a four-point stretch from senior forward Kingsley Perkins off an inside shot and a couple of free throws to regain a three-point lead. That lead would quickly vanish as junior Bearcat guard Cha'Vez Woods (Louisville, Ky.) went on a little hot-spurt himself in knocking down two straight threes and take the lead once more. The Lakers were able to get into the paint for a few layups to give them a 19-17 edge with 10 minutes remaining in the first half. 

McKendree did not generate much offense in the final stretch of half number one as King contributed six of the Bearcats' nine points, whereas Lake Superior State's last six field goals were all shots from beyond the arc. Senior guard Tyson Edmondson put in three of those six, and fifth-year guard Andy Soma had two of them, which would give the Lakers a comfortable 37-26 lead going into halftime. 

Just like the gameplan in the first half, the Bearcats opened up half number two with a small barrage of three-pointers as Niesman and Whitaker each sunk one in and Stein collected a pair to find themselves down by only eight. Edmondson would bring back the physical toughness for Lake Superior State by earning himself a quad of shots from the charity stripe all the while with Stein slinging in his third three-ball. Niesman and freshman guard Rini Harris (O'Fallon, Ill.) would score McKendree's next nine points, but would still trail by nine. 

The Lakers would end the final seven and a half minutes on a 14-12 run, getting as many of their players involved with the Bearcats doing the same. Lake Superior State will go on to finish 2-0 in the classic with a 72-61 win as them and Alabama-Huntsville both finish the event undefeated.  

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• Stein led McKendree with 15 points on 5-13 shooting and 3-9 from beyond the arc. He still is becoming a huge factor as a distributor as he dished out six assists along with three rebounds and a steal. 

• King and Niesman were a great support, notching 11 and 10 respectively and combining for 4-9 from three-point range as King pulled down a team-high seven rebounds. 

• Whitaker continues to be a lethal shooter for the Bearcats, where in this game he took all his shots from deep as he went 3-4. 

• Lake Superior State was led by Edmondson, who scored 20 points, shooting 6-10 from the floor and 4-6 from three. 

• Perkins, Soma, and senior forward Hunter Soper all supported with double-figure scoring as Soper pulled down a game-high nine rebounds for his team. 

• McKendree shot 39.2% from the field, 37.5% from distance, and 100% from the stripe while the Lakers ended with 51.1%, 47.8%, and 71.4% respectively. 

• Despite the setback, McKendree capitalized more on turnovers than Lake Superior State, converting 13 points to their nine. 

• The Lakers were +6 in scoring in the paint, outscoring the Bearcats 22-16. 

UP NEXT

McKendree will be back on the court next Saturday, November 30th, when they open up GLVC-play at home against Maryville University at the Harry M. Statham Sports Center with tip-off set for 3:00 PM CT. 

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