ST. LOUIS, Mo. – The men's basketball team took care of business and with ease in their first GLVC road win of the season as they took down Maryville University 70-50 on Thursday, December 11th at the Moloney Arena in St. Louis, Missouri.
Score: McKendree University 70, Maryville University 50
Record: Bearcats 6-2, 2-1 GLVC | Saints 1-8, 0-4 GLVC
HOW IT HAPPENED
McKendree got their first initial points from inside the paint as fifth-year forward Noah Franklin (Cobden, Ill.) pushed his way in for the layup as the first-year guard Moses Wilson (Aurora, Ill.) received the dish and threw down a two-handed slam. After Maryville got their first bucket two and half minutes into the game, guards Rini Harris (O'Fallon, Ill.) and Andrew Moore (Montgomery County, Mo.) nailed back-to-back triples for the Bearcats to open an early 10-2 lead.
Moments later, the Bearcats went on an 11-2 run to expand their lead to 14 midway through the first half of play. McKendree did not let the Saints get back within double digits for the remainder of the half as redshirt sophomore guard Grant Fridley (Trenton, Ill.) fired in a couple of three-point shots of his own to lead his squad up 38-22 into the break.
Maryville looked to get things going at the start of the second half by getting an easy one inside, but the Bearcats kept piling on with a 10-0 spurt to respond to double the Saints' score at 48-24. A pair of long shots by the Maryville perimeter stalled the McKendree offense for approximately four minutes until redshirt sophomore forward Jakob Fredricksen (Elizabethtown, Ky.) earned his way to an and-one opportunity and was followed up with another three-point shot to go back up by 23.
Both teams threaded evenly through the rest of the game with McKendree showing signs of slowing down and keeping the Saints in their dog house as they cruised their way to a comfortable 70-50 win on the road.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
• Moore led all scorers with 16 points on 5-for-9 (55.5%) shooting from the field and 3-for-5 (60.0%) from the arc to go with five rebounds, two assists, and a steal.
• Harris followed with a double-figure scoring outing of his own with 11 points, plus six rebounds, five assists, and a block on 4-for-7 (57.1%) shooting and 2-for-5 (40.0%) from deep.
• McKendree shot 44.2% from the field, 28.6% from deep, and 88.9% from the line.
• The Bearcats outrebounded the Saints 37-33.
• McKendree won the paint scoring battle, 30-18.
• The Bearcats had a 28-19 advantage in bench points.
• This is the first time this season that McKendree has held all opposing players under double-figure scoring since against Hannibal-LaGrange University on November 21st this season.
• The team's 6-2 overall start to the season is their best since the 2017-18 season (started 10-2)
UP NEXT
McKendree will be back in action on Tuesday, December 16th as they will take on the Lakers of Roosevelt University in the Hansen-Spear Funeral Home Classic on the campus of Quincy University at the Pepsi Center with tip-off set for 3:00 PM CT.
The contest will be streamed live and on-demand on the GLVC Sports Network via a subscription/download purchase, as live stats will also be available for fans to tune in.
Tickets are $10 for general admission, $7 for those 60 or older and military veterans, and free for those of the age 12 and under.
Keep up with McKendree University Men's Basketball on Facebook, X (Twitter), and Instagram. #GLVCmbb | #D2mbb
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