SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – Finishing off the road portion of the regular season, the McKendree University Bearcats battled the Drury University Panthers on Saturday, February 17th. A tightly-contested first half, turned into a 20-point win for the Bearcats 76-56.
The first twenty minutes of action between the Bearcats and Panthers saw 11 lead changes and four ties as the teams went back and forth. McKendree led by the slimmest of margins at the break due to a perfect 6 for 6 from the free throw line. The second half saw the Bearcats open on a 7-0 run that forced a DU timeout just 90 seconds into the half. McKendree's lead slowly ballooned throughout the final 20 minutes as the Panthers were held to just 28.6% from the field. The Bearcats' defense held the Panthers to 20 points in the half and McKendree shooting 50% from the field.
Milos Vicentic had a game-high 22 points on 8-of-13 from the field and 4-of-4 from the charity stripe. Caleb Zurliene was the other Bearcat in double figures with 11 points, while pulling down eight rebounds. The rest of the team had a very balanced effort in scoring.
The Bearcats went 27-of-52 from the field. More impressively, they were a perfect 16-of-16 from the free throw line.
McKendree will return home on Saturday, February 24th when they host the University Missouri – St. Louis Tritons with tip off scheduled for 3:00 p.m.
