LEBANON, Ill. – Guard Cha'Vez Woods (Louisville, Ky.) came in clutch in what was an already dominant showing of a career-high 32 points for the senior within the final moments of overtime to send it to a second extra period and pick up win number one in GLVC action this season by defeating Rockhurst University 95-85 at the Harry M. Statham Sports Center in Lebanon, Illinois.
Score: McKendree University 95, Rockhurst University 85 (2OT)
Record: Bearcats 5-1, 1-0 GLVC | Hawks 4-2, 1-1 GLVC
HOW IT HAPPENED
McKendree would come out of the gates and into their first GLVC contest of the 2025-26 season with the game's first seven points behind layups from the guards Rini Harris (O'Fallon, Ill.) and Andrew Moore (Montgomery County, Mo.), with also an early three-point shot from senior Cha'Vez Woods (Louisville, Ky.). After Rockhurst finally got on the board with a couple of made field goals, Woods would throw down a two-handed flush, which would spark a monumental 8-1 run to take a 17-6 lead.
The Hawks would start clawing their way back into things and shorten their deficit to five with nine minutes remaining in half number one, until a seven-point response from the Bearcats brought them back ahead by double digits. A bully-ball lay-in from fifth-year forward Noah Franklin (Cobden, Ill.) put himself at seven points so far in the contest, but the game of runs trend would continue in the final minutes, where Rockhurst pushed themselves to a 16-5 run to head into the break down by just one at 35-36 to the Bearcats.
The Bearcats would do a good job holding on to their lead despite the push from Rockhurst, with Woods contributing almost half of the team's first 11 points to begin the second half. After another tough inside layup from the former Southwest Baptist Bearcat in Franklin to up his squad's lead to four, another former SBU player in Rockhurst's Drenin Dinkins got himself a little five-point spurt to give his Hawks their first lead of the entire game.
The two teams hung on during the final stretch of regulation, with Moore giving the Bearcats their final four points, including a couple of made free throws to knot it up at 73 apiece. The ball would be in Rockhurst's hands for the final possession as Micah Deaver went for the foul line extended pull-up jumper, but it would be slightly blocked by Franklin and then rebounded by Hawk Jaden Flournoy for the tip-in attempt as the buzzer sounded. Upon further review, the ball would not leave Flournoy's hands in time, sending the game to overtime.
A low-scoring affair would present itself in the extra period. Dinkins would sink in another shot from beyond the arc to go up by three until Moore came roaring back with a layup to cut it to one. A tough contested fadeaway jumper by Dinkins regained Rockhurst with a three-point edge with just 70 seconds to go. Both sides would take a couple of tough shots before it was McKendree's turn with the ball for one last shot. In a do-or-die situation, the Bearcats swung the ball around the perimeter and into the hot hands of Woods, who would make significant space and cast a step-back three-pointer that would hit nothing but net and tie the game at 80 with 2.3 left of the first overtime. A last-second heave by Rockhurst would not even touch rim as the game would head to a second overtime.
There was no backing down from Woods, as he immediately hit his fourth three-point shot of the game as a minute later, him, Harris, and sophomore forward Wyatt Zellers (Scottsburg, Ind.) utilized a monumental 7-0 run with a little over a minute remaining to earn their most comfortable lead since the early stages of the match. A slam dunk by Franklin and a follow-up layup by Moore off a missed dunk attempt from Zellers put the cap on the intense and emotional game for the Bearcats, who would win 95-85 to go to 5-1 on the season with their first GLVC victory of the year.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
• Woods notched his collegiate career-high of 32 points by going 9-for-15 from the floor, 4-for-9 from three, and 10-for-12 from the charity stripe. He also tied a career-high five assists and earned his McKendree-best eight rebounds.
• Moore had 18 points in the win on 6-for-11 shooting along with three boards and two dishes.
• Franklin followed the freshman closely with 17 points scored of his own in a very efficient 7-for-9 for his second double-double as a Bearcat, with 12 total rebounds.
• Harris also earned himself a double-double in the evening with 13 points and 12 boards while also getting at it defensively with a trio of steals and a blocked shot.
• McKendree shot 58.6% from the field, 35.0% from deep, and 62.5% from the line.
• The Bearcats outrebounded the Hawks 46-34.
• McKendree won the battle in the paint, 54-30, and had the 9-5 advantage in fast break points.
• The last time McKendree played, let alone won, an overtime game was at home on February 10th, 2024, when they played in three against the University of Illinois Springfield in GLVC action and won 121-116.
• The last time the Bearcats had two players record a double-double in the same game was when Malcolm Mabry had 18 points and 13 rebounds while Nolan Gering had 12 and 11, respectively, against Quincy University on February 24th, 2018.
• This is the second game this season where McKendree had four of its players reach double figures in scoring in a single game with the first coming in their last outing against No. 21 Concordia University, St. Paul.
• Woods is the first Bearcat player to score 30+ points in a game since Kevin Stein had 32 against Lincoln University (Mo.) on January 23rd, 2025.
UP NEXT
McKendree will set their eyes on their first road GLVC contest of the season as they will stay in-state against the University of Illinois Springfield on Thursday, December 4th at The Recreation and Athletic Center (TRAC) with tip-off set to 7:30 PM CT.
The game will be streamed live and on-demand on GLVCSN via a subscription/download purchase. Live stats will also be made available. Tickets can be found on UIS' athletic website as general admission is $10, with children ages from 5-17 are $5, and select reserved seating is $15.
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