McKendree men, women both score victories
The McKendree University men’s basketball team bounced back into the win column Wednesday night with a 92-57 victory at the Harry M. Statham Sports Center against Central Christian College.
Freshman guard Nate Michael poured in a career-high 28 points — including 19 in the first half — to show the way for the Bearcats. McKendree moves to 5-2 on the season and will continue its homestand Saturday night by hosting Trevecca Nazarene University in non-conference play. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m.
Michael drilled eight three-point field goals in the win over Central Christian, six of which came in the first half. He also added five rebounds, two assists and a pair of steals for the Bearcats. Junior guard David Franklin (Althoff Catholic) helped out with 13 points, eight rebounds and a game-high eight assists, while sophomore forward Rob Hudson came off the bench to add 12 points. Junior guard Michael Jackson (O’Fallon) and junior forward Darin Winkelman each connected for 10 points on the night for McKendree, and senior center David Newton matched Franklin with eight rebounds.
Central Christian (5-3) led by four points in the opening moments before McKendree grabbed the lead for good midway through the first half. A run of eight consecutive points pushed the Bearcats out to a 19-15 lead, and was part of a 25-5 burst that stretched the margin to 36-20 with 6:47 to play in the period. Michael helped fuel the decisive run for McKendree as he knocked down four three-pointers over the stretch.
McKendree took a 44-28 lead at the intermission, then pulled away by shooting 63.3 percent from the field (19-of-30) in the final 20 minutes of play. The Bearcats made 51.5 percent of their field goal attempts on the night (34-of-66), making 14 shots from long distance. In the contest, the McKendree bench connected for 52 points and held a 20-5 edge in points off turnovers.
Lebarin Eaton paced Central Christian with 15 points, while DuJuan Henderson added 11 points. Gibson Louis hauled in a game-high 11 rebounds for the Saints.
Bearcats 88, Central Christian 25
The McKendree University women’s basketball team had five players score in double-figures on Wednesday night in awin over Central Christian College.
The Bearcats improve to 2-6 overall and will travel north to Springfield on Saturday for a Great Lakes Valley Conference game at University of Illinois Springfield at 1 p.m.
Senior guard Ashley Klass led all players with a career-high 19 points, including a career-high five three-pointers. Fellow senior guard Kacey Johnson and junior forward Ellie Pusheck each added 12 points, while sophomore guard Halle Devoe and freshman guard/forward Jordan Morton each scored 10 points. Devoe's 10 points was also a career-high. It was the first time McKendree has had three or more players score in double figures in a game since Ellie Pusheck, Emily Pusheck, Caty Ponce and Gabby Williams did so against Lewis University on February 21, 2015.
The Bearcats used a 6-0 run towards the end of the end of the first quarter to build their first double-digit lead, 17-6, with 2:18 left in the period, and settled in defensively in the second quarter and held the Saints to only four points in the period to lead 51-12 at the half.
McKendree kept up its defensive effort in the second half, limiting Central Christian to only 19.4-percent (6-31) shooting form the field. The Bearcats held the Saints to only one three-pointer in 24 attempts in the contest, and didn't allow Central Christian to score in double-digits in any quarter of the game. McKendree made a season-high nine three-point attempts in the game, but also outscored Saints in the paint in the contest 40-4.
This story was originally published December 9, 2015 at 10:26 PM with the headline "McKendree men, women both score victories."