LEBANON, Ill. – The men's basketball team was in and out of the lead for the whole night as they eventually lost against Lewis University in Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) action on Thursday, February 13th at the Harry M. Statham Sports Center in Lebanon, Illinois. 

Score: McKendree University 64, Lewis University 69 

Record: Bearcats 11-11, 8-7 GLVC | Flyers 14-8, 9-6 GLVC 

HOW IT HAPPENED

Lewis opened the game up on a 7-0 edge behind a couple of inside shots from senior forward Rob Stroud. McKendree sure enough would keep things contested as their senior guards in Kevin Stein (Chester, N.Y.) and Destin Whitaker (Romeoville, Ill.) would combine for 12 of the team's first 14 points of the match, being down slightly at 14-18 with 10:15 to go in half number one. 

A few minutes would pass before either side would score again as Bearcat junior guard Cha'Vez Woods (Louisville, Ky.) knocked down three shots from beyond the arc within a four-minute span along with senior guard Joey Niesman (Oswego, Ill.) and senior forward Hayden Meakes (Adelaide, Australia) each sinking in one three-pointer to put McKendree up by seven. Stroud and the Flyers would go on a mini-rally in the final minute to end the first half down to the Bearcats, 32-33. 

Neither side was able to lead more than five points in the first 10 minutes of the second half of play as McKendree was able to drop in another trio of threes from a various group while Lewis kept on attacking the rim on almost every possession and getting fouled within the process, hence, leading to eight made free throws.  

Shortly after, Flyer seniors forward Devon Vanderheydt and guard Jaylin Gibson connected on back-to-back jumpers to put them ahead by just three, but Niesman was quick in responding to get to the charity strip and knot it at 55-all with a little over five minutes in regulation. Lewis then went on a small 6-2 run to regain the lead once more before an and-one layup from Niesman and a mid-range jumper from Meakes put the Bearcats back ahead with 2:18. However, the Flyers would get the last laugh by driving inside like they had all night and end the game on an 8-2 run to win the game against McKendree 69-64.  

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• Niesman led McKendree with 16 points on 5-12 shooting along with a perfect 5-5 from the free throw line as he grabbed a career-high 12 rebounds to go with a pair of assists and steals. 

• Stein had 14 points in going 2-5 from three plus six assists, four rebounds, and a block and a steal. 

• Woods and Meakes each finished with nine points as the former went 3-6 from beyond the arc as the latter was 2-7 from distance. 

• Stroud was the leader for Lewis with 27 points on 12-18 shooting with six rebounds and a pair of steals. 

• McKendree shot 36.2% from the field, 34.5% from distance, and 70.6% from the stripe while the Flyers ended with 49.0%, 30.8%, and 77.3% respectively. 

• Despite the loss, the Bearcats were +5 in points off of turnovers, +8 in bench points, +1 in second-chance points, and +4 in fast break points. 

• Lewis was +8 in points inside the paint. 

UP NEXT

McKendree will be back on the court on Saturday, February 15th, when they stay home at the Harry M. Statham Sports Center in Lebanon, Illinois, to take on the University of Indianapolis, with tip-off set for 2:00 PM CT. 

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