LEBANON, Ill. – The RV men's basketball team had to fight hard to pick up their 16th win on the season in just 20 games, as they held the upper edge in a neck-to-neck battle with the Tritons of the University of Missouri-St. Louis on Thursday, January 29th at the Harry M. Statham Sports Center in Lebanon, Illinois in GLVC play.
Score: McKendree University 82, University of Missouri-St. Louis 78
Record: Bearcats 16-4, 9-3 GLVC | Tritons 12-9, 6-6 GLVC
HOW IT HAPPENED
Defense was the name of the game in the first five and a half minutes for the Bearcats, as they held UMSL to two points, both coming at the charity stripe, as McKendree started out with a pair of tough layups to be up 7-2. Yet, the Tritons were able to respond on a 9-1 run to take their first lead of the night after their forward Demetris Phillips contributed on seven of them.
McKendree would swing things back into their favor by scoring eight straight as a response to go up by five with just a little under 10 minutes in the first half of play. In what was mostly pound-for-pound to get buckets, McKendree started to get it going from distance, as senior guard Cha'Vez Woods (Louisville, Ky.) and Wyatt Zellers (Scottsburg, Ind.) canned a pair of triples on back-to-back possessions.
The Bearcats would spread the wealth within the final moments of the half with six different players contributing to their point total as the squad treaded evenly to go into the locker room up narrowly, 38-35.
Coming into the second half of play, Woods would catch fire from distance, nailing a trio of three-point shots over a two-minute span to stay on top with a six-point edge. After an and-one conversion from the UMSL end of the floor, the Bearcats went right back to attacking the paint, to where they pushed in a few from up close.
Over the next six minutes, Andrew Moore, Rini Harris, and Noah Franklin each earned themselves an old-fashioned three-point play of their own to keep the distance fathomable from the visiting Tritons. UMSL was immediately able to cut it to within one off another and-one play with just six minutes left in regulation.
Looking to put away the game for good, a set play by George Suggs on the offensive end found Franklin well beyond the three-point line, to where he would hit nothing but the net to take the two-possession advantage. UMSL, with desperation, heaved a long-distance shot from their end with 47 ticks remaining while being fouled in the process to make it a rare four-point play. However, the Bearcats would get the last laugh after the Tritons missed a wide-open long ball to knot the game up, as McKendree would escape on their home floor with an 82-78 victory.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
• Woods led the Bearcat platoon with 21 points on an even 6-for-12 (50.0%) shooting, including a 4-for-8 (50.0%) mark from distance to go with five rebounds and an assist.
• Franklin followed with 14 points on the board, missing only one shot attempt on the evening with 5-for-6 (83.3%) from the field and a perfect 3-for-3 from the line, plus six boards, a pair of assists and one each of a block and a steal.
• Moore and Harris each finished the victory with 13 points, as the former had a trio output of rebounds and assists, while the latter corralled nine boards and a trio of dishes.
• McKendree shot 56.5% from the field, 43.8% from deep, and 71.9% from the line.
• The Bearcats won the rebounding battle 34-29.
• McKendree had the 38-22 edge in points inside the paint.
• Bearcats move to 16-0 when leading with five minutes in regulation, and 15-0 when being up with two minutes left.
• McKendree also moves to 16-3 when holding the halftime lead this season.
UP NEXT
McKendree will be back in action this Saturday, January 31st, as they will host the Maryville University Saints in a 3:00 PM CT tip-off at the Harry M. Statham Sports Center in Lebanon, Illinois.
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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