LEBANON, Ill. – The men's basketball team could not rebound in the second half after a slow start against Lincoln University (Mo.) in Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) action on Thursday, January 23rd at the Harry M. Statham Sports Center in Lebanon, Illinois. 

Score: McKendree University 68, Lincoln University (Mo.) 73 

Record: Bearcats 8-9, 5-5 GLVC | Blue Tigers 13-5, 5-5 GLVC 

HOW IT HAPPENED

Lincoln came out guns blazing in the first couple minutes of the game where junior guard Mikey West nailed two of three made three-pointers by the Blue Tigers in the opening sequence as senior forward Franck Yetna contributed on their other, which led to McKendree's Head Coach George Suggs calling an early timeout. Bearcat sophomore guard Luka Mateski (Belgrade, Serbia) finally got his team on the board with three straight points, plus a made jumper from junior guard Cha'Vez Woods (Louisville, Ky.) helped close the gap to six. However, another made triple by West, plus a throw-down dunk by Yetna gave Lincoln a comfortable 17-6 lead. 

With a little under 10 minutes remaining in the first period of play, the Blue Tigers continued to take control on foreign grounds by ending the half on a 16-7 run which included Lincoln scorn the last eight points between the two sides as the Bearcats were only able to muster in 14 points heading into the break as the Blue Tigers would hold a 33-14 edge. 

Down but not out, McKendree senior guard Kevin Stein (Chester, N.Y.) would almost single-handily take over the second half for his squad as right away, he drove himself through some contact for the and-one opportunity. Yet, Lincoln responded with a 9-2 run afterward in which then both teams traded buckets until senior forward Hayden Meakes (Adelaide, Australia) gave the Bearcast a couple of close-range shots. Before Stein came in and reeled 11 straight points in what would cut the deficit to 23 and be down 32-55.  

Stein & Co. Just kept on pushing until they could not do so any more as the Bearcats went on a blitzing 31-12 run from just under 10 minutes remaining in regulation till just under one minute as they did a handful to be down by just four. Yet, the Bue Tigers were able to get the ball inbounds and past half court to which they converted on their free throws to seal the win, 73-68 over McKendree. 

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• Stein was the only McKendree player in double figures with his career-high of 32 points on 11-23 shooting while going 3-9 from distance and 7-10 from the line. He also had three rebounds, two steals, an assist, and a block. 

• Mateski and junior guard Noah Franklin came just short of the double-digit plateau as the former had six rebounds and a steal, while the latter had five rebounds to go with his points. 

• West led Lincoln with 19 points on 5-11 shooting and 4-6 from three-point range while grabbing eight rebounds and passing out three assists. 

• McKendree shot 40.4% from the field, 28.6% from distance, and 74.1% from the stripe while the Blue Tigers ended with 52.4%, 47.1%, and 75.0% respectively. 

• Despite the loss, the Bearcats were +3 in points off of turnovers, +2 in points in the paint, and +6 in second-chance points. 

• Lincoln had a 27-9 advantage in bench points. 

UP NEXT

McKendree will be back on the court on Saturday, January 25th when they stay home in Lebanon, Illinois, to take on the ninth-ranked team in the country in Missouri S&T at the Harry M. Statham Sports Center with tip-off set for 3:00 PM CT. 

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