Men’s Basketball Defeats Southwest Baptist, Advances to GLVC Championship | https://mckbearcats.com/
Men’s Basketball Defeats Southwest Baptist, Advances to GLVC Championship | https://mckbearcats.com/
Men’s Basketball Defeats Southwest Baptist, Advances to GLVC Championship
McKendree University men's basketball clinched an 87-67 victory over No.7-seeded Southwest Baptist to earn a spot in the Great Lakes Valley Conference championship game on Sunday, March 5. Sunday's game will mark the first McKendree men's basketball GLVC championship appearance in program history.
McKendree dominated the game, holding the lead over Southwest Baptist for the rest of the game after SBU collected the first basket at 2-0. By the half, McKendree had raised its lead to 41-24 and continued to push its offense in the second half, extending its lead by as much as 34 points.
Through the semifinal game, McKendree shot over 50 percent from the field for its fifth consecutive game and over 55 percent from the three-point line for its second consecutive game, recording a 59.2 percentage from the field and 55.6 percentage from beyond the arc. In the second half alone, McKendree shot 63.6 percent from both the field and three-point range.
Leading the way offensively for McKendree were junior forward Milos Vicentic with 23 points and senior guard Eric Powell II with 20 points in the win. Powell hit a season-high 6-for-6 from the three-point line and 7-for-8 from the field, accounting for six of the team's 15 three-pointers. Vicentic was 8-for-12 from the field and 4-for-6 from downtown on the day.
Sophomore guard Caleb Zurliene added 19 points including a season-high three three-pointers while senior guard Bryson Bultman rounded out the double-digit scorers with 10 points. Vicentic and Bultman each snagged a team-high seven rebounds in the contest.
McKendree also defeated SBU on the boards, 34-24, and in assists for the contest, 18-12. SBU struggled in shooting beyond the arc, netting just 10 percent of threes in the first half and 30.4 percent of threes overall.
McKendree advances to the final round of the GLVC championship on Sunday, March 5 at 1 p.m. to play the No.-5 seeded University of Missouri-St. Louis who upset the No.1-seeded University of Indianapolis on Saturday afternoon. This season, McKendree and UMSL are 1-1 as UMSL grabbed a 10-point win over McKendree in early January. In the last meeting between McKendree and UMSL, McKendree came away with a 78-74 win on the road.
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