ST. CHARLES, Mo. – The men's basketball team kept it close in the first half of play but ultimately could not hold on in the end against No.10 Missouri S&T in the quarterfinals of the Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) Championship Tournament on Thursday, March 6th at the Hyland Arena in St. Charles, Missouri. 

Score: McKendree University 62, Missouri S&T 70 

Record: Bearcats 14-14, 11-9 GLVC | Miners 24-4, 17-3 GLVC 

HOW IT HAPPENED

FIRST HALF 

It would be a neck-and-neck contest throughout the entire first half, with neither side leading by more than four points within. McKendree's sophomore guard Luka Mateski (Belgrade, Serbia) helped set the tone for his squad by scoring nine of their first 16 points on four field goals. 

Moments later, Missouri S&T would go on to tie the game for the fifth time already in the early stages but was responded to by Bearcat senior forward Hayden Meakes (Adelaide, Australia) with a spacious step-back three-pointer to put his team back up by three. The Miners would do one better with back-to-back triples from their guards in junior Blaise Beauchamp and senior Lovell Williams to give themselves a three-point cushion. 

McKendree would respond yet again, this time on a mini 6-0 run initiated by a close-range jumper by senior guard Joey Niesman (Oswego, Ill.) and capped off by a second two-handed flush by Mateski. 

The Miners would have to earn it from the charity stripe as their leading scorer in junior forward Andrew Young contributed eight of his squad's last 12 points. The Bearcats were held scoreless in the final 4:47 of the half, making way for Missouri S&T to obtain a four-point edge of 34-30 heading into the extended break via a 7-0 spurt. 

SECOND HALF 

Momentum would remain on the Miners' side of the ball, starting the second half of play with a 6-2 run to take the largest lead of the game at eight points. Meakes would follow up with his second made three-ball of the day to cut the deficit to five. However, Missouri S&T would embark on a monumental 8-2 run to extend their lead to double-digits. 

Within a little over a two-minute span, McKendree would fire in a trio of shots from beyond the arc, bringing the Bearcat team to within just three as Niesman converted on two of them while Mateski knocked down the lone other.  

Missouri S&T would keep chipping away from all areas of the court to bring them again to a 11-point advantage. Yet, they would forget to contain Mateski, where he was able to drive inside numerous times by scoring 10 of his squad's 12 final points of the game, which included an 8-for-8 trip to the free throw line. 

With 1:16 to go in regulation, the Bearcats would find themselves down by just four as they put up the defensive pressure in full-court press mode in hopes of a few more turnovers on the opposing side. A two-point jumper by Beauchamp and a pair of free throws by junior guard Alex Benassi would eventually seal the win for the Miners and have McKendree fall just short, 62-70. 

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• Mateski notched his career-high in scoring for a second consecutive game with his fourth straight double-figure outing as he dropped 28 points on 7-10 shooting from the floor and an efficient 13-15 from the charity stripe. He also tied his career-high in rebounds with 13, plus an assist. 

• Niesman finished with 15 points on 5-11 shooting and 3-6 from distance while tallying a rebound and an assist. 

• Meakes followed closely with 13 points while going 5-9 from the field and 2-4 from three and grabbing two rebounds and a steal. 

• 90.3% (56/62) of the Bearcats scoring came from a combined Mateski, Niesman, and Meakes. 

• Young led Missouri S&T with 17 points, five rebounds, five blocks, and three steals while graduate guard Ryan Sroka finished with 16 points, five rebounds, and an assist. 

• McKendree shot 42.6% from the field, 26.1% from distance and 72.7% from the stripe while the Miners ended with 41.8%, 35.0%, and 60.7% respectively. 

• The Bearcats were +3 in points off of turnovers. 

• Missouri S&T was +4 in second-chance points and +5 in fast break points. 

• Both teams had 13 bench points and 26 points in the paint. 

• Mateski's 13 free throws made is a season-high for the team and most since last year when then-guard Caleb Zurliene made 13 against the University of Illinois Springfield on February 10th, 2024. 

• McKendree's loss to the Miners brings them to 6-38 all-time against nationally top-25 opponents. This was their first time playing a team ranked at No.10. 

• The Bearcats move to a 4-5 overall record in the GLVC Championship Tournament with 0-2 against the one seed and 0-2 as the eight seed. 

FROM THE VOICE OF SUGGS

Head Coach George Suggs gave the following on the team's season: 

"It's never a good feeling to have your season end, but I could not be more proud of our team's effort. A disappointing result takes nothing away from what these guys have poured into our program. I'm so thankful for these seniors and their trust, and excited for our young guys and their future." 

UP NEXT

That will conclude the men's basketball 2024-25 season. McKendree University Athletics would like to thank the program and its fans for a memorable season and look forward to what is to come in the future.  

The 2025-26 season schedule will be expected to be released in the fall of 2025. 

For more updates and information on Bearcat Athletics, please continue to visit McKBearcats.com and follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. 
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