JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – The (RV) men's basketball team has won its fourth straight game to get them to 15 wins on the season behind a controlling 60-48 victory over the defending conference champions, Lincoln University Blue Tigers, in snowy Jefferson City, Missouri on Saturday, January 24th at the Jason Gym in GLVC action.
Score: McKendree University 60, Lincoln University 48
Record: Bearcats 15-4, 8-3 GLVC | Blue Tigers 8-11, 2-9 GLVC
HOW IT HAPPENED
The outside weather did not affect the tempo of the Bearcats to start this matchup, as the team succeeded on six of their first eight shot attempts to open the gates with a 16-3 run, with the home Blue Tigers only getting one field goal to drop in. Fifth-year forward Noah Franklin (Cobden, Ill.) and sophomore guard Rini Harris (O'Fallon, Ill.) sunk the three-ball on back-to-back possessions, whereas redshirt junior Justin King (Mascoutah, Ill.) was able to drive it in on a fastbreak stampede and was found in the corner a minute later to knock down the three-point shot.
Then, McKendree would go cold over the course of the subsequential eight minutes of play, giving Lincoln the path to score nine unanswered points and trim their deficit to four. Senior Cha'Vez Woods (Louisville, Ky.) kept being on the attack, as the guard chipped in four more points to bring him to seven. With a little over a minute remaining in the half, sophomore forward Joshua Schönbäck (Kierling, Austria) knocked down the trey from the opposite corner to give McKendree the nine-point edge, until the Blue Tigers made do on a couple of made free throws to give the Bearcats a 27-20 lead heading into halftime.
After two whole minutes without a bucket to open up half number two, the Bearcats went to put up eight consecutive points to extend their lead to 13. At around the midway point of the half, and after Lincoln got back to within single digits, Woods would can another triple as freshman guard Andrew Moore (Montgomery County, Mo.) pounded his way inside for the close layup.
Back-to-back lay-ins from Harris and a third three-point shot by Woods all but clinched the victory against the Blue Tigers, as the home team kept chipping away down the final stretch. Yet, McKendree would convert at the line and sink seven of their eight free throws in crunch time to seal away the 60-48 road win.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
• Woods would be the only Bearcat to nab double-digit points, as the senior finished with 22 points on 7-for-14 (50.0%) shooting from the floor and 3-for-6 (50.0%) from deep to go with five rebounds, an assist, and three steals.
• Franklin, Harris, King, and Schönbäck each contributed seven points on the day and combined for 18 rebounds and four assists.
• McKendree shot 37.7% from the field, 34.8% from deep, and 80.0% from the line.
• The Bearcats led in points off turnovers (13-8), second chance points (9-2), bench points (16-8), points in the paint (24-16), and fast-break points (6-2).
• The team is now a perfect 15-0 when leading with five minutes to go in regulation, and moved to 14-0 when being up with two minutes.
• McKendree is now 15-3 when holding the lead heading into halftime, as they only trailed once in such circumstances this season.
• This is the fastest the program has gotten to 15 wins to start a season in their NCAA Division II history (since 2012-13).
UP NEXT
McKendree will be back home next week as they start off by playing the University of Missouri-St. Louis on Thursday, January 29th at the Harry M. Statham Sports Center in Lebanon, Illinois in what would be game one of a three-game homestand.
Fans can tune in live or on-demand on the Bearcats' GLVC Sports Network with a subscription/download purchase required, as live stats will also be provided. Tickets can be purchased at mckbearcats.com.
Keep up with McKendree University Men's Basketball on Facebook, X (Twitter), and Instagram. #GLVCmbb | #D2mbb
For more updates and information on Bearcat Athletics, please continue to visit McKBearcats.com and follow us on Facebook, X (Twitter), and Instagram.
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