LEBANON, Ill. – The RV men's basketball team found their footing in the second half of action against the Maryville University Saints, as they dropped 50 points in the period to give Head Coach George Suggs his 50th GLVC win on Saturday, January 31st at the Harry M. Statham Sports Center in Lebanon, Illinois.
Score: McKendree University 88, Maryville University 71
Record: Bearcats 17-4, 10-3 GLVC | Saints 2-19, 0-13 GLVC
HOW IT HAPPENED
Freshman guard Andrew Moore (Montgomery County, Mo.) drew first blood in the Saturday afternoon matchup by corralling the offensive rebound off a missed shot as sophomore guard Rini Harris (O'Fallon, Ill.) earned his keep from the line, sinking a small handful of free throws. A mini three-point contest took place shortly afterward, with Maryville canning a pair from their guard, Henry Sanchez, as senior Bearcat guard Cha'Vez Woods (Louisville, Ky.) gave his squad their first shot from distance and making the score knotted up at eight a piece.
A breakaway driving dunk by redshirt junior guard Justin King (Mascoutah, Ill.) opened up the gates for McKendree, with Woods and sophomore forward Joshua Schönbäck (Kierling, Austria) keeping the pace going from the line and from beyond the arc. Moments later, Schönbäck dumped off a pocket pass to fifth-year forward Noah Franklin (Cobden, Ill.), who would throw it down with two hands, as Schönbäck would too get himself a fastbreak slam, assembling a Maryville timeout up three.
However, those electrifying moments would rile up the Saints, who would close out the half in their favor with an 18-9 run over the final six and a half minutes, making it only the second time the Bearcats have trailed at the midway point.
Coming into half number two, McKendree would waste no time flipping the script, as the home team blazed their way to a 16-5 spurt to recapture the lead with Harris and Moore contributing seven and six points within that span, respectively. Another three-pointer made by Maryville's Sanchez dwindled their deficit to just four, but the aggressiveness by the Bearcats would not let up, as the team could not miss on a 16-0 run that saw them sink all four of their field shots, including four coming from long distance.
With the Bearcats displaying themselves up by 20 in a matter of seconds, they did not let up at all, as they buried a trio more of three-point shots, two of which came via senior guard Caleb Burton (O'Fallon, Ill.). McKendree's hot second half kept the Saints at bay with finishing off the conference matchup with an 88-71 victory.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
• Moore led all scorers with 21 points on a very efficient 8-for-11 (72.7%) shooting, including a 3-for-5 mark from deep (60.0%), plus six rebounds.
• Woods also tabbed a 20-point night on 5-for-10 (50.0%) shooting from the floor and three-point range to go with four boards and one each of steal and a block.
• Harris and Schönbäck rounded out the double-figure scoring for the Bearcats, as the former pulled down nine rebounds and dished out four assists. The latter had 11 on a perfect 3-for-3 scoring with a pair of boards, and collected two assists.
• McKendree shot 51.8% from the field, a season-high 47.8% from deep, and 65.5% from the line.
• The Bearcats held the advantage in points off turnovers (19-9), bench points (29-18), and points inside the paint (36-20).
• McKendree led the rebounding battle 42-32 (+10).
• The 11 three-pointers made are the most in a single game all season, and also being the first time hitting double figures in the category this season.
• The team's six-game winning streak is their longest since the 2022-23 season, when the team reeled off eight straight. That included the last three regular-season games, all three GLVC Tournament games, and the first two contests of the NCAA Regionals.
• With the victory, Head Coach George Suggs has hit the 50 GLVC wins plateau, while also earning his 80th win as a head coach overall in his fifth season.
UP NEXT
McKendree will be back in action on Saturday, February 7th, as they will host the University of Illinois Springfield for the Bearcats' Sports Hall of Fame Day, with tip-off at 3:00 PM CT 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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