LEBANON, Ill. – The men's basketball team came away with their first loss of the 2025-26 season in a tightly contested matchup on Tuesday, November 25th to the University of Central Missouri as part of the DoubleTree by Hilton Thanksgiving Classic, hosted by Drury University at the O'Reilly Family Event Center in Springfield, Missouri.
Score: McKendree University 67, University of Central Missouri 75
Record: Bearcats 3-1, 0-0 GLVC | Mules 5-2, 0-0 MIAA
HOW IT HAPPENED
It was a two-man show for McKendree to start game one of the highly anticipated in-season event, with senior guard Cha'Vez Woods (Louisville, Ky.) and sophomore guard Rini Harris (O'Fallon, Ill.) taking the initiative for the squad's first 13 points. Woods nailed two three-pointers within the early stretch to take an 8-6 lead before the Mules made seven unanswered points to regain a four-point advantage.
Moments later, after Central Missouri hit their second shot from beyond the arc, redshirt sophomore forward Jakob Fredricksen (Elizabethtown, Ky.) powered his way in for an off-balanced inside shot to earn his way to the stripe for an and-one opportunity to which he would convert on as Woods kept his presence felt from the perimeter and sinking another three-point shot to take back a 23-22 lead with under seven minutes remaining.
Woods would go on to score seven of his team's next 11 points in the first half to give him 18 total heading into the long break. A thunderous two-handed slam by fifth-year forward Noah Franklin (Cobden, Ill.) electrified the Bearcats to a 33-29 halftime lead on 50.0% shooting from the floor.
It would be Franklin versus the Mule long shooting as the former gave the Bearcats their first six points to open up half number two, which included a couple of made lay-ins with an old-fashioned three-point play of his own with Central Missouri starting to feel it from distance with two made trey balls.
A contested layup by freshman guard Andrew Moore (Montgomery County, Mo.) would exchange another lead change, favoring McKendree up 43-41. However, it would be all Mules from there on out. A 6-0 spurt from the Bearcats closed themselves within a one-possession game, but back-to-back three-pointers from Central Missouri put the nail in the coffin despite Franklin reenacting the end of the first half with another two-handed flush, with this time drawing the foul. McKendree could not ultimately make it a comeback as they would fall to the Mules 75-67.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
• Franklin and Woods would notch their season-highs in scoring with 21 and 20 points, respectively, as the former shot a high clip of 7-for-9 (77.7%), as the latter went 8-for-16 (50.0%) with four made three-pointers and five rebounds.
• Moore rounded out the double digit scoring with 10 points on 4-for-8 on field goals with a trio of boards.
• Harris did it all for his squad in finishing with nine points, seven rebounds, five assists, two blocks, and a steal.
• McKendree shot 47.3% from the field, 27.8% from deep, and 55.6% from the line.
• Despite the setback, McKendree led in points off turnovers (15-4) and points in the paint (42-16).
• Woods' four three-pointers made and Harris' five assists were the most of any player in a single game so far this season.
UP NEXT
McKendree will be back in action tomorrow for day two of the DoubleTree by Hilton Thanksgiving Classic as they face No.21 Concordia University, St. Paul at 3:15 PM CT at the O'Reilly Family Event Center in Springfield, Missouri.
The game will be streamed live and on-demand on GLVCSN via a subscription/download purchase. Live stats will also be made available as tickets are on sale for each of the two days for the whole day at the O'Reilly Family Event Center (two men's basketball and two women's basketball games each day).
Keep up with McKendree University Men's Basketball on Facebook, X (Twitter), and Instagram. #GLVCmbb | #D2mbb
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