SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – The men's basketball team picks up their third consecutive win with holding on against the University of Illinois-Springfield in Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) action on Thursday, February 6th at The Recreation and Athletic Center (TRAC) in Springfield, Illinois. 

Score: McKendree University 79, University of Illinois-Springfield 75 

Record: Bearcats 11-10, 8-6 GLVC | Prairie Stars 10-12, 5-9 GLVC 

HOW IT HAPPENED

UIS's senior forward Jack Weber helped his squad begin the matchup with a 6-5 edge in the early goings with a couple of made layups as a three-pointer by McKendree's sophomore guard Luka Mateski (Belgrade, Serbia) and a layup from senior guard Joey Niesman (Oswego, Ill.) kept them from not getting too far behind. Moments later, Niesman caught fire from beyond the arc with a pair of three-balls, which helped ignite a 15-2 run to put the Bearcats up 20-8 with 12 minutes remaining in the half. 

An and-one conversion by Prairie Star Evan Altman, along with a few baskets from Weber, gave UIS their next 11 points, but would still be down to the Bearcats by eight. As time was winding down in the first half of play, shooting guard Destin Whitaker (Romeoville, Ill.) drew the foul on a three-point attempt – to which he made due on all of the attempts – and later on McKendree's next possession knocked down the shot from beyond the arc to eventually put the Bearcats up 35-28 heading into halftime. 

The opening minutes in the second half had McKendree continuing to attack the rim as Niesman and junior forward Noah Franklin (Cobden, Ill.) each layed one in on their end as Weber kept putting shots in on the opposing side. UIS would creep their way back into the game with nine straight points. However, Bearcats senior forward Hayden Meakes (Adelaide, Australia) hit a close two-point jumper plus the foul to keep his team up eight. 

With a little over 10 minutes remaining, Meakes would remain in the game to keep the Bearcats at bay with a couple of more shots from deep along with another one from Whitaker to stay up four with three and a half minutes remaining in regulation. Weber would still not let down the Prairie Stars as he made three straight lay-ins for his team, but was immediately responded with a pair of back-to-back triples by Niesman to go up by eight. 

The Bearcats converted nine of their 11 free throws down the final minute-stretch as the Prairie Stars kept getting off quick shots including two three-pointers from sophomore guard Britton Dutton, but McKendree would hold off on the opposing attacks to win their third straight, 79-75. 

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• Meakes led the Bearcats with a career-high 20 points on 5-12 shooting, including 3-6 from three and 7-9 from the line while obtaining six rebounds and an assist. He has now scored 15+ points in his last three outings. 

• Niesman followed suite closely with 19 points, going 7-9 from the field and 4-5 from deep while getting a trio of boards and a pair of assists. 

• Whitaker and senior guard Kevin Stein (Chester, N.Y.) rounded out the double-figure scoring for McKendree with 11 and 13 points respectively as the latter also finished with a game-high five assists plus two rebounds. 

• Weber tied his career-high with 31 points on 13-18 shooting for UIS as he also grabbed four rebounds and an assist. 

• McKendree shot 53.3% from the field, a season-high 57.1% from distance, and 76.0% from the stripe while the Prairie Stars ended with 52.0%, 25.0%, and 69.0% respectively. 

• The Bearcats were +1 in points off of turnovers, +13 in bench points, and +6 in fast break points. 

• UIS was +20 in points in the paint and +3 in second-chance points. 

• McKendree's 57.1% mark from three in the win was the highest since January 20th, 2022, when they made 66.7% (10-15) against Quincy University. 

• The last time the Bearcats had zero offensive rebounds was at the University of Indianapolis on January 4th, 2022. 

UP NEXT

McKendree will be back on the court after a little extra time off, which they will play next on Thursday, February 13th, when return to the friendly confines of the Harry M. Statham Sports Center in Lebanon, Illinois, to take on Lewis University with tip-off set for 7:30 PM CT. 

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