LEBANON, Ill. - The men's basketball team pushed their win streak to three in a convincing win against the University of Illinois Springfield in Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) action on Saturday, December 7th at the Harry M. Statham Sports Center in Lebanon, Illinois.
Score: McKendree University 92, University of Illinois Springfield 82
Record: Bearcats 6-3, 3-0 GLVC | Prairie Stars 5-4, 1-3 GLVC
HOW IT HAPPENED
McKendree made a solid start to their day in the opening minutes of the first half by going on an 11-4 run, which saw the team connect on a trio of three-point shots from their senior guards in Joey Niesman (Oswego, Ill.), Kevin Stein, (Chester, N.Y.), and Destin Whitaker (Romeoville, Ill.). A little six-point burst by UIS kept the visiting team in the loop, but junior guard Cha'Vez Woods (Louisville, Ky.) drained a couple of buckets from beyond the arc in back-to-back possessions to enhance the lead again. Being down by six, Prairie Star sophomore guard Jorden Williams notched a three-ball to cut it within only three, but the Bearcats would roar out a stellar 15-2 run that was capped off with five straight points from sophomore guard Justin King (Mascoutah, Ill.) as his team would lead 33-17 with 7:25 remaining in period number one.
Down by a sizable margin, the Prairie Stars would chip in 15 points to the Bearcats' 10 in the final several minutes before the extended break where UIS senior forward Evan Altman scored all seven of his points in the half within that span. However, McKendree would still loom large over the visitors from up north, 43-32 going into the locker rooms at halftime.
After Niesman got things going with an easy layup to start the second half, both Bearcat junior forward Noah Franklin (Cobden, Ill.) and Prairie Star senior forward Jack Weber went at it for their respective squads as Franklin connected on back-to-back possessions with a pair of three-pointers and followed up the next possession with a thunderous two-handed slam while on the other end, Weber drove inside for a couple of made layups. Within the next four minutes, Franklin would continue to shine on his day with four more points along with a quad from Niesman which included a three-pointer to up the team's lead to 64-49.
With 9:40 left to play in regulation, Weber and sophomore guard Britton Dutton each contributed to UIS's next nine points to pull within 10. From then on, both sides would tab 24 more points each as McKendree would convert on their intentional free throws while the Prairie Stars would try to get quick buckets on the other end. Nonetheless, the Bearcats would hold on to win at home 92-82.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
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McKendree was led by Franklin, who tabbed a career-high 27 points while shooting a comfortable 7-10 from the field, 3-5 from three, and 10-11 from the line. He also collected six rebounds, three assists, and a steal.
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After a 30-point performance on Monday, Niesman followed up with a solid 19 points on 6-10 shooting overall, 2-4 from deep, and a perfect 5-5 from the charity stripe.
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King and Stein rounded out the double-figure scoring for the Bearcats, with the former putting up 15 points, collecting six rebounds, and taking away a pair of steals. The latter had a game-high six assists with four rebounds to go with his 11 points.
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McKendree shot 54.0% from the field, a season-high 48.1% from distance, and 89.3% from the stripe while the Prairie Stars ended with 49.2%, 20.0%, and 66.7% respectively.
UP NEXT
McKendree will be back on the court on Thursday, December 19th when they hit the road to take on Thomas More University at the Connor Convocation Center in Crestview Hills, Kentucky with tip-off set for 2:00 PM CT.
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