Vicentic Leads with 24, Men's Basketball Struggles to Overcome First Half Deficit at SBU
McKendree University men's basketball (11-11, 7-8 GLVC) narrowly fell on the road to the Bearcats of Southwest Baptist on Thursday night, 75-66, as junior forward Milos Vicentic and senior guard Eric Powell II combined for 43 points. McKendree struggled from the field, shooting just over 46 percent while hitting just 34.6 percent of threes. The Bearcats came away with seven scorers but just two double-digit scorers in the game. McKendree heads to Rockhurst for a tough test against the Hawks on Saturday, February 11, before returning home.
Vicentic led the way for McKendree with his 24-point outing, firing 50 percent from the field and making five of seven from the line. Powell II added 19, going 7 of 11 on field goals while making 5 of 9 from beyond the arc. Sophomore guard Caleb Zurliene was next in line for the Bearcats with eight points with five boards and five assists.
The Bearcats were down by 13 at the peak in the first half, cutting it down to seven near the half-way mark of the first period of play. In the second half, the Bearcats cut the lead down to just six points at the 17 minute mark off a pair fo free throws by Vicentic while Zurliene added a fast break layup. The dualing Bearcats went back and forth with McKendree knocking the lead down to four at the 14-minute mark with a Vicentic lay-in.
Senior guard Bryson Bultman recorded his sole make of the night to bring the SBU lead down to three points with just over 10 minutes left, 50-47. The closest McKendree go to taking a lead during the outing was after it cut the lead to just one point at the 9:23 mark, 53-52, after Powell drove in for his own layup.
After cutting the SBU lead down to just one, McKendree was unable to contain the SBU Bearcats, as the host slowly built back an advantage, reaching 11 points with just over two minutes to go in the contest.
McKendfree failed to lead in the game but managed to own he paint with 32 points and received help off the bench with 13 points.
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