LEBANON, Ill. – The (RV) men's basketball team made a program-historic mark on Thursday, January 8th as they officially made their best start in their 14-year history as a member of NCAA Division II with an 11-3 overall record after taking down Truman State University 73-62 at Pershing Arena in Kirksville, Missouri in a bounce-back GLVC contest. 

Score: McKendree University 73, Truman State University 62 

Record: Bearcats 11-3, 4-2 GLVC | Bulldogs 5-9, 2-4 GLVC 

HOW IT HAPPENED 

Both teams took a minute to get the ball rolling while turning it over within the first few possessions. Truman State drew first blood with a lay-in, but was immediately responded to by a flaming 10-0 run by the Bearcats over the course of two minutes exactly, with redshirt sophomore Jakob Fredricksen (Elizabethtown, Ky.) knocking down his third career three-pointer as senior guard Cha'Vez Woods cashed in on his 73rd as a Bearcat. 

After a 7-2 spurt by the Bulldogs to pull within three, sophomore guard Rini Harris (O'Fallon, Ill.) found the ball in is his lap on the defensive end, to which he took it coast-to-coast and drew contact to make do on an and-one opportunity. 

Yet, that did not stop Truman State as they went for a six-point spurt to tie the game with 13 minutes left in the first half, making it close one for the two programs in purple. Looking for some separation in the scoring column, Woods took matters into his own hands by dropping eight of his team's next 10 points to go up 25-18, as a little over a minute later, redshirt sophomore guard Grant Fridley (Trenton, Ill.) swished in back-to-back shots with one coming in from long distance and extend the lead to eight once again. 

A couple more shots from Woods, including a beautiful up-and-under move from nine feet out helped keep McKendree ahead as a dribble handoff by Fredricksen found himself inside for an easy two as the road Bearcats held a 37-33 advantage heading into halftime. 

Coming out of the long break, the Bearcats did not take their foot off he pedal, as a layup from sophomore forward Joshua Schönbäck (Kierling, Austria) gave McKendree their largest lead at nine points a little over four minutes in. The Bulldogs would not go away, as they clawed back to a four-point deficit soon after, but an open look three-ball and a tip-in layup from Harris halted their momentum. 

With McKendree up by a comfortable 10, freshman guard would continue his under-the-radar scoring night by stripping the rock from the defender's hands and pushing the ball full-fledged to the basket for a breakaway lay-in and go up by a dozen. 

Heading down the final three-minute stretch, Schönbäck went into takeover mode by weaving his way towards the basket from the corner for the easy two and knocked down his second three-pointer of the season – and second in within the last two games – from the opposite corner to put McKendree's lead to a comfortable 14. Holding serve with the intentional fouling by Truman State, the Bearcats would go on to steal their fifth true road win of the season, beating the Bulldogs 73-62. 

INSIDE THE NUMBERS 

• Woods led the Bearcats with 18 points with a pair of triples to go with seven rebounds, a steal, and a team-high five assists 

• Harris followed with 12 points with too seven boards, as he stuffed the stat sheet with a trio of assists, two takeaways, and a block. 

• Schönbäck rounded out the double-figure scoring with a McKendree-high 11 points on 4-for-5 shooting (90.0%), plus five rebounds, a steal, and a blocked shot. 

• Four different Bearcat players (Woods, Harris, Moore, and Wyatt Zellers) collected seven boards in the win, as the team had the 39-38 edge in rebounding overall. For Schönbäck and Zellers, those were their McKendree-highs. 

• McKendree shot 47.3% from the field, 35.3% from deep, and 57.7% from the line. 

• The Bearcats held the advantage in most specialty categories, including points off turnovers (18-6), second chance points (13-10), bench points (30-21), and points in the paint (38-24). 

• The current 11-3 record on the season is now the Bearcats' best start with in their NCAA Division II era (began in 2012-13) 

UP NEXT 

McKendree will be back in action on Saturday, January 10th, as they head westward to Liberty, Missouri to take on the Cardinals of William Jewell College at the Mabee Center with tip-off slated for 3:00 PM CT. 

Fans can tune in live or on-demand on the Cardinals' GLVC Sports Network with a subscription/download purchase required, as live stats will also be provided. Tickets can be found at jewellcardinals.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.  
#BearcatsUnleashed