Southern Illinois News

Second Half Struggles Doom Men's Basketball in Home Setback to No. 17 Southwest Baptist

The McKendree University men's basketball team came into Saturday's home contest with 17th-ranked Southwest Baptist looking for its best-ever start in Great Lakes Valley Conference play, but SBU would outscore the home team Bearcats, 46-34, en route to posting a 79-66 victory in the "Battle of the Bearcats" at the Harry M. Statham Sports Center on the McKendree campus.
 
With the setback, McKendree falls to 4-4 overall and 2-2 in the GLVC, while SBU, who snapped its two-game losing streak, improved to 6-2 overall and 2-2 in the league. The loss also snapped McKendree's three-game homecourt win streak that had dated to last season.
 
"We are pretty disappointed to lose on our home court today, but overall I am proud of how these guys have worked to improve to start the year," McKendree head coach George Suggs said following the game. "We have some real deficiencies that we need to fix in order to be a really successful team, but it is clear to our staff and our players what those are. We are excited to get back to work and get better."
 
In Saturday's setback, senior guard Eric Powell II (Lexington, Ky./Asbury University) scored a career high and game-high 23 points as he was 8-for-12 from the field, including going 5-for-8 from the 3-point line. Powell scored 13 of his 23 points in the first half as the Bearcats trailed 33-32 at the half.
 
Along with Powell II's 23 points, senior guard Bryson Bultman (Nashville, Ill./Nashville) added 13 points and nine rebounds, but struggled shooting the ball as he was 4-for-11 from the field and 0-for-4 from the 3-point line in the game, while junior forward Milos Vicentic (Belgrade, Serbia/OKK Belgrade) added 11 points, including scoring seven of those points in the second half.
 
After trailing by a point at 33-32 at the half, McKendree opened the second half by scoring five of the first seven points to tie the game at 37-all just 59 seconds into the half.
 
SBU, who won its third straight game against the Bearcats, responded with a 15-5 run to push out to a 52-42 lead with 13:22 left in the game. The run was keyed by nine points from RJ Crawford, who paced SBU with 19 points.
 
McKendree would stop the run on a lay-up by Bultman with 12:35 left in the game, but lay-ups from Noah Franklin and Crawford pushed SBU's lead back to 10 points at 56-46 with 10:52 left.
 
The Bearcats wouldn't go away as they responded with a 15-10 run capped by a trey from Powell to pull within 66-61 with 4:22 left in the game. Powell scored eight of his team's 15 points during the run.
 
SBU, who were the regular season GLVC champions last season, answered back with a 7-2 run to extend its lead back out to 73-63 with 2:34 remaining.
 
Three straight free throws, including a 2-for-2 effort at the line from sophomore forward Caleb Zurliene (Aviston, Ill./Purdue Northwest) dropped SBU's lead to 73-66 with 1:50 remaining, before SBU made all six of its free throws over the final 90 seconds to hold off the Bearcats and seal the victory.
 
Crawford was one of five SBU players that scored in double figures in the game as Quinn Nelson added 16 points, while Drenin Dinkins chipped in with 15 points, including a 6-for-7 effort at the line off the bench. Franklin had 11 points and six boards and Mitch Ganote posted a double-double of 10 points and 11 rebounds and added eight assists for SBU.
 
For the game, McKendree shot 45 percent from the field and 36 percent from the 3-point line, while SBU shot 52 percent from the floor, including a 56 percent effort in the second half and 47 percent from the 3-point line. SBU was 4-for-7 (57.1 percent) from long distance after halftime.
 
McKendree was outrebounded 30-27, while they also committed 15 turnover that led to 22 points for SBU. SBU had 11 turnovers and 16 assists. McK finished with 12 assists, including Bultman dishing out four of those assists.
 
The Bearcats also tied a season-high six blocks with Zurliene leading the way with three.
 
Both teams combined to shoot 35 free throws in the game as McKendree was 13-for-17 (76.5 percent) from the line, while SBU went 16-for-18 (88.9 percent), including a 14-for-15 effort in the second half.
 
McKendree will now take 15 days off to complete first semester classes and final exams before returning to action on Sunday, Dec. 18 with a 2 p.m. game in Allendale, Mich., against Grand Valley State. 

Original source can be found here