BOLIVAR, Mo. – A team that has been tested all year, passed another test on the road. The McKendree University Bearcats battled the Southwest Baptist University Bearcats on Thursday, February 15th and fought from behind in the second half to come away with the 71-65 win. McKendree improved to 14-9 (8-8 GLVC) on the season and have now won four straight.
The game was tied at 60 with 4 minutes left and McKendree went on an 11-5 run to seal the victory. This came as they trailed by seven with 14:33 left. The last time SBU would have any kind of lead was with nine and a half minutes left as Milos Vicentic finished off balance, through contact for the and-1 opportunity to make it 51-50 McKendree as a part of an 8-0 run. Another mini 5-0 run by McKendree made is 58-52, forcing SBU to call a timeout. McKendree was able to get defensive stops down the stretch as they held SBU at arm's length in the victory.
As a team, McKendree shot 28-of-49 from the field for 57.1%. They were also efficient from beyond the arc at 8-of-17 for 47.1%.
Vicentic led the way with 20 points on 7-of-11 from the field. Carson Parker chipped in with 12 points, but he also pulled down eight rebounds and dished out two assists. Off the bench, Hayden Meakes added 12 points. Caleb Zurliene was able to fill the box score with 10 points, six blocks (ties his career high), three rebounds, two assists and two steals.
McKendree finishes out their road schedule with a trip to Drury University on Saturday, February 17th with tip scheduled for 3:00 p.m.
