LEBANON, Ill. – The No.23 men's basketball team pushed its win streak to seven after a back-and-forth GLVC showdown against the University of Illinois Springfield on Saturday, February 7th at the Harry M. Statham Sports Center in Lebanon, Illinois, with the freshman Andrew Moore obtaining his career-high in points and rebounds.
Score: McKendree University 77, University of Illinois Springfield 69
Record: Bearcats 18-4, 11-3 GLVC | Prairie Stars 15-7, 11-3 GLVC
HOW IT HAPPENED
The fifth-year forward Noah Franklin (Cobden, Ill.) wasted no time getting his team going by scoring on five of the Bearcats' first seven points to start, including rhythm catch-and-shoot three from the top of the key. UIS would take their first lead of the afternoon just moments after the mentioned start to go up by two.
The next few minutes saw Franklin and sophomore guard Rini Harris (O'Fallon, Ill.) muscle their respective ways in to convert on the and one opportunities, as freshman guard Andrew Moore (Montgomery County, Mo.) would too power his way in to give him a quiet six points midway through the first half. A two-handed flush by Franklin erupted the home crowd, with Moore displaying his spacing as he solely led his squad to close out on a 7-4 run to take a 35-27 lead heading into the locker room.
Harris kept the aggression going into half number two by getting himself to the basket on a couple of early possessions with Moore knocking down his second triple of the game thus far. Down by an even 10 points, the Prairie Stars utilize a 8-0 spurt to get back within two. Yet, that momentum would quickly vanish as Moore led the charge in a responding 12-2 run that was capped off by a deep ball from the wing by sophomore forward Wyatt Zellers (Scottsburg, Ind.).
The game of runs continued with UIS taking back their turn with an 11-2 run to answer on a two-man show to get back within just three with seven and a half minutes remaining in regulation. But a corner three by Franklin in front of his home bench and via an offensive rebound pushed their lead back to seven as the combination of Franklin, Harris, and Moore would conjoin on McKendree's next 16 points to keep their distance.
The Bearcats made due on their free throws down the final stretch to fend the Prairie Stars off from stealing on their home floor, with McKendree coming away with the crucial 77-69 GLVC win.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
• Moore tabbed a career-high of 25 points on 8-for-15 (53.3%) shooting from the floor, including a pair of three-point shots to go with 11 rebounds, which tied his career-high.
• Franklin dropped in 19 points on 5-for-9 (55.5%) scoring with also a pair of shots from deep to go with nine boards and two blocked shots.
• Harris rounded out the double-digit scoring for the Bearcats, with six rebounds, and filled the stat sheet with an assist, a steal, and a block.
• McKendree shot 47.2% from the field, a season-high 29.2% from deep, and 76.9% from the line.
• The Bearcats won the rebounding battle 36-32.
• McKendree had the advantage in second-chance points (12-11), bench points (6-4), and fast break points (7-4).
• The team's seven-game win streak is their best 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.
UP NEXT
McKendree will be back in action on Thursday, February 12th, as they will travel to the University of Indianapolis to faceoff against the Greyhounds at 6:30 PM CT at the Nicoson Hall in Indianapolis, Indiana.
Fans can tune in live or on-demand on the Greyhounds' GLVC Sports Network with a subscription/download purchase required, as live stats will also be provided. Tickets can be found on UIndy's athletic website.
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
