FAYETTE, Iowa – The men's basketball team fought hard but could not come victorious against Upper Iowa University in Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) action on Saturday, February 22nd at the Dorman Memorial Gymnasium in Fayette, Iowa. 

Score: McKendree University 82, Upper Iowa University 84 (OT) 

Record: Bearcats 12-13, 9-9 GLVC | Peacocks 19-8, 13-6 GLVC 

HOW IT HAPPENED

McKendree got things going with a 7-0 start after senior guard Destin Whitaker (Romeoville, Ill.) knocked down the squad's first three-pointer of the day. Upper Iowa finally got themselves on the board with a layup from junior guard Noah King immediately after, but Whitaker was there once again on the perimeter to knock down a second consecutive long-shot to go up by eight. Both teams scored evenly throughout the next several minutes of action with the Bearcats holding a 21-14 lead at the halfway point through the first half. 

The majority of the back half of the first period of play saw both sides trading baskets as Whitiker and senior forward Hayden Meakes (Adelaide, Australia) each dropped in five points as Peacock leading scorer, graduate forward Nick Reid gave his team 10. Down by nine, Upper Iowa reeled off eight straight points via a pair of three-pointers by graduate forward Caleb Delzell in the final minute and seven second of the first half to bring them to within one, trailing 40-41. 

Intensity would find its way into the second half of action, as each side would take punches at almost every possession, where the Bearcats would hold a six-point lead after senior guard Kevin Stein (Chester, N.Y.) stunned the home crowd by burring a three-point shot and would be followed by a two-handed flush from senior guard Joey Niesman (Oswego, Ill.) after he picked off the Peacock offense. An and-one play by McKendree sophomore guard Luka Mateski (Belgrade, Serbia) extended the Bearcat lead to seven with 12 and a half minutes remaining, but Upper Iowa scored the next six straight points to be down by just one. 

Upper Iowa would retake the lead after another layup from King with a little over seven minutes to go as both sides fought hard for any point they could muster up. With 48 seconds to go in regulation, Stein eased in a lay-in off an offensive rebound by Meakes to put them up by one as Reid got his own rebound off a missed shot to put it back up and regain the lead themselves. As seconds remained, Niesman drove it to the rim off a baseline out-of-bounds play and got fouled in the process. There, he made the first free throw but missed the second to send the game into overtime. 

The Peacocks had the extra five minutes of play in their favor, as they opened up on a 7-2 advantage with King again on the attack. Meakes would then hit another three-ball seconds later to cut the McKendree deficit to two as Stein would follow with a layup after Upper Iowa split on their free throws. Down by two with five seconds remaining, Stein drove again downhill where he would try to dump it off to Mateski underneath the basket, but it was knocked away at the last second, giving the Peacocks the 84-82 win. 

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• Stein put up a team-high 21 points on 9-13 shooting, including 1-2 from three and 2-3 from the line as he tallied three assists and rebounds. 

• Whitaker followed with 16 points on 5-7 shooting with a 3-4 mark from deep and a perfect 3-3 from the line. 

• Mateski finished with 13 points on 4-8 shooting along with a team-high eight rebounds. 

• Meakes and Niesman tabbed 12 and 11 respectively as the former had a trio of rebounds plus an assist while the latter put up two rebounds, three assists, three steals, and two blocks. 

• Reid tied his career-high in scoring with 35 points on 10-20 shooting from the field, 4-10 from deep, and 11-13 from the line as he also had a game-high nine rebounds. 

• McKendree shot a season-high 55.4% from the field and 57.1% from distance with 80.0% from the stripe while the Peacocks ended with 43.8%, 30.0%, and 65.5% respectively. 

• Despite the loss, the Bearcats were +2 in bench points, and +18 in points inside the paint. 

• Upper Iowa was +11 in points off of turnovers, +5 in second-chance points, and +6 in fast break points. 

• McKendree's 55.4% field goal percentage was a game-best since converting 67.4% against William Jewell College on December 2nd of the 2023-24 season. 

UP NEXT

McKendree will be back on the court on Thursday, February 27th, when they return home to take on Rockhurst University at the Harry M. Statham Sports Center, with tip-off set for 7:30 PM CT. 

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