LEBANON, Ill. – The men's basketball team could not pull off a comeback on their home floor against Truman State University in Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) action on Saturday, January 11th at the Harry M. Statham Sports Center in Lebanon, Illinois. 

Score: McKendree University 73, Truman State University 77 

Record: Bearcats 7-7, 4-3 GLVC | Bulldogs 8-6, 2-4 GLVC 

HOW IT HAPPENED

Truman State would take hold of the first five-plus minutes of the game, where they opened with a 12-5 lead over the home Bearcats. A step-back three-point jumper from McKendree senior guard Destin Whitaker (Romeoville, Ill.) halted the run by the opposition to cut the deficit to four, but the Bulldogs continued to pounce with junior guard Xavier Hall responding with a three of his own plus a layup as fellow teammate sophomore forward Matt Haefner flicked one up and in himself for a seven-point spurt. Senior guard Kevin Stein (Chester, N.Y.) and freshman forward Jakob Fredricksen (Elizabethtown, Ky.) converted on a couple of inside shot to get closer, but Hall and Haefner reeled another seven straight points to take a 26-12 lead with 10:04 to go in half number one. 

The Bearcats would try to climb back into reach with an 18-12 run in the next eight minutes of action, led by eight points from junior guard Cha'Vez Woods (Louisville, Ky.), who knocked down a pair of three-pointers and brought his squad within eight points with minutes to go until halftime. However, Haefner and Hall would drop in a layup and mid-range pull-up respectively to close out the first half with a comfortable 42-30 lead. 

Coming out of the half, McKendree was determined to take the lead for the first time all game by going on a huge 15-3 run to start the second half, which in large part was due to Stein's eight point-within, including back-to-back triples with about 18 minutes left as they eventually tied it up at 45 a-piece. Regardless, the Bulldogs would continue to guard their ground, with sophomore guard Kobi Williams answering with an and-one conversion and proceeded to drive it inside for a couple more layups to give his squad a 55-51 lead with 10:23 to go in regulation. 

Woods knocked down another shot from beyond the arc as teammate junior forward Noah Franklin (Cobden, Ill.) gave himself five points as he toughed his way into the paint to bring them within one. After a layup from Fredricksen with 5:08 to go in the game, senior guard Joey Niesman put the Bearcats up front for the first time all night with a mid-range turnaround jumper and lead by two. However, a Bulldog 13-7 run led by half a dozen points from Williams doomed the chances for McKendree as they would steal the win on road, 77-73. 

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• McKendree had two 20-point scores, with Stein leading with 22 points on 9-13 shooting and 4-7 from distance. 

• Franklin followed closely behind with 20 points, shooting 7-13 from the floor and 6-8 from the line while collecting 10 rebounds and a pair of blocked shots. 

• Woods was the only other Bearcat in double figures with 15 points – two points shy of his career-high as he went 6-12 from the field and 3-6 from three-point range. 

• Hall led Truman State with 21 points on an efficient 8-9 shooting and 4-4 from deep along with five assists as Williams finished with 19 while going 6-11 from the field plus six rebounds and a trio of assists. 

• McKendree shot 46.8% from the field, 32.1% from distance, and 66.7% from the stripe while the Bulldogs ended with 45.5%, 32.0%, and 82.6% respectively. 

• Despite the loss, the Bearcats finished +7 in bench points and +6 in points in the paint. 

• Truman State was +4 in points off of turnovers, +1 in second-chance points, and had a 5-0 advantage in fast break points. 

UP NEXT

McKendree will be back on the court on Thursday, January 16th when they travel to Springfield, Missouri to take on Drury University at the O'Reilly Family Event Center with tip-off set for 7:45 PM CT. 

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