LEBANON, Ill. – The (RV) men's basketball team utilized a strong shooting performance, highlighted by a 51-point second half, to reel in their 13th win of the season and sixth in conference action against the Panthers of Drury University on Saturday, January 17th at the Harry M. Statham Sports Center in Lebanon, Illinois.
Score: McKendree University 89, Drury University 76
Record: Bearcats 13-4, 6-3 GLVC | Panthers 8-9, 3-6 GLVC
HOW IT HAPPENED
Senior forward Noah Franklin (Cobden, Ill.) got his team going early by contributing on six of the team's first eight points as they found themselves in a battle with the visiting Panthers. After already seeing the game's fifth lead change in only five minutes into the game, the Bearcats pushed ahead to a five-point lead after redshirt sophomore Jakob Fredricksen (Elizabethtown, Ky.) drilled in the corner three, while sophomore guard Rini Harris got himself on the board with a paint shot via and offensive board.
Moments later, senior guard Cha'Vez Woods (Louisville, Ky.) would also get going from distance by hitting one from long range by the Drury bench. The Panthers shifted their key focus to the defensive end of the floor as they allowed only one field in the subsequent five minutes of action while retaking the four-point edge.
Sophomore forward Joshua Schönbäck (Kierling, Austria) halted the opposition to get any hotter as he was able to get his defender in the air off a pump fake and convert the and-one opportunity. Harris kept that momentum going as the O'Fallon native helped his squad go on a 10-4 run to take the lead once more. Fredricksen would keep on displaying his long-range skillset, where he canned his second triple of the night from the top of the key to give McKendree a 38-34 lead heading into halftime.
A 12-2 spurt by the mighty Bearcats extended the gap to 14 points in their favor with Franklin being the opening focal point once again for the team as he contributed on the first nine of such, while freshman guard Andrew Moore (Montgomery County, Mo.) plowed his way to the bucket to earn an old fashioned three-point play of his own. The beauty would not stop there, as Harris and Woods connected on a pair of shots from beyond the arc in back-to-back possessions to lead 56-41.
The Panthers responded to that well with an 11-2 run to cut their deficit to six with a little over 10 minutes left of regulation. Yet, that would not match the firepower of the Bearcat trio of Franklin, Woods, and Harris, as the three of them went on to score the squad's next 18 points to bring their advantage back to 14 points.
With a hair under two minutes remaining, redshirt sophomore guard Justin King (Mascoutah, Ill.) was able to seal the deal with a short-range floater from the left side, as the Bearcats would cruise on to with their 13th win of the season and sixth in GLVC play with a 89-76 victory over Drury.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
• Franklin went a perfect 8-for-8 from the field and 2-for-2 from long distance to finish the win with 24 points, along with six rebounds and an assist.
• Harris followed closely with 21 points of his own on 7-for-14 (50.0%) shooting, while collecting three boards, two steals, and an assist.
• Woods rounded out the double-figure scoring with 14 on the evening, as he too corralled a trio of rebounds, plus two dishes.
• King notched his season-high of nine points and tied with three assists, along with five boards.
• McKendree shot a season-high 58.7% from the field and 47.1% from deep, while going an efficient 81.8% from the line.
• The Bearcats outrebounded the Panthers 30-26.
• McKendree held the advantage in second chance points (9-7) and points in the paint (38-24).
• The last time the Bearcats had two players reach 20+ points was when Noah Franklin (21) and Cha'Vez Woods (20) did so against the University of Central Missouri on November 25th of this season as part of the DoubleTree by Hilton Thanksgiving Classic.
• The 51 second-half points by McKendree are their largest output so far this season.
UP NEXT
McKendree will be back in action on Thursday, January 22nd, as they face the nationally ranked No.12 Missouri S&T Miners at the Gibson Arena in Rolla, Missouri with tip-time slated for 7:30 PM CT.
Fans can tune in live or on-demand on the Miners' GLVC Sports Network with a subscription/download purchase required, as live stats will also be provided. Tickets can be purchased on Missouri S&T's website, with various pricing options available.
Keep up with McKendree University Men's Basketball on Facebook, X (Twitter), and Instagram. #GLVCmbb | #D2mbb
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