Effingham's Donaldson Scores 13 In McKendree Loss

The Bearcats came out hot, but then went 3-for-10 and found themselves trailing the Screaming Eagles six minutes into the game. Right out of the timeout, Aleksa Popovic (Belgrade, Serbia/BC Partizan Belgrade) maneuvered his way around the defense to the basket, slamming one down to put his team within one. Next possession, Jacob Donaldson (Effingham, IL/Effingham) would add his first three-pointer of the afternoon and tie the game at 14. The Bearcats would break the full court press and try to catch the Screaming Eagles off balance when driving to the net. They would pull away by draining three-pointers and capitalizing on opportunities from steals. The Bearcats lost their lead late in the first half and came within two points going into halftime.

McKendree saw pressure and their deficit increase by 12, five and a half minutes into the second half. Defensive moves like a crucial block from Donaldson to eliminate the Screaming Eagles from scoring on a steal, are what the Bearcats needed to stay within a single-digit deficit. The Bearcats would retaliate with a full court press to try and slow down the control that Southern Indiana had on the game.

Bryson Bultman (Nashville, IL/Nashville) recorded a season-high 21 points in the game, going 58.3 percent from the floor, 50.0 percent from beyond the arc, and 62.5 percent from the free throw line. Brendon Gooch (Belleville, IL/Althoff ) recorded his first double-double as a Bearcat, scoring 12 points and 11 rebounds, and going 2-for-2 from the free throw line. Donaldson added 13 points, shooting 57.1 percent, and 50.0 percent from both three-point range and the free throw line.

Southern Indiana was first to get on the board over the undefeated Bearcats and try to hold onto a three-point lead before forcing the Bearcats into a timeout. The Screaming Eagles would go back-and-forth with the Bearcats but not enough to regain their lead. When driving to the basket, the Bearcats would pull back before following through forcing the Screaming Eagles to get off-balance. They would find ways to comeback within points and momentarily take a lead over McKendree, and lead by one going into halftime.

Southern Indiana came out of the timeout looking to extend their lead, turning the pressure onto the Bearcats. They would secure a 12-point lead with 14 and a half minutes left in the game, forcing the Bearcats into a timeout. the Screaming Eagles worked the whole second half to try and change up their opponent's tone, and it worked well in keeping the six-point lead with one-minute left in the game.

EIU Hangs On For Win

CHARLESTON, Ill. – On a night Mack Smith tied the NCAA Division I record for consecutive games with a 3-pointer made, it was free throws that allowed Eastern Illinois to hang on for a 92-88 win over Western Illinois. 

The Panthers improved to 3-4 on the season beating the Leathernecks (1-4) in the Old Railsplitter Axe rivalry game played at First Mid Court at Lantz Arena. 
Mack Smith scored the first points of the game for the Panthers knocking down a 3-pointer for the 88th consecutive game as he tied former Illinois standout Cory Bradford’s record that has stood since 2001.  Smith finished with 13 points, one of six EIU players in double figures, and will have a chance to set the record on Dec. 21 when EIU opens Ohio Valley Conference play at SIUE. 

EIU led 45-32 at the half and opened the second half with a 9-1 run to lead by 21 points.   

That lead slowly evaporated as the WIU guard Justin Brookens had the hot hand for the Leathernecks scoring a game-high 37 points, 28 coming in the second half. 

EIU would break a WIU press in the final two minutes with Jordan Skipper-Brown sending home a dunk to make it 86-79.  After a miss by WIU on the next possession, EIU would be fouled and sent to the free throw line.    

The Panthers would miss the front end of one-and-one opportunities three straight times as WIU was able to inch closer in the contest.  Three free throws by Brookens would cut the EIU lead to 86-82 with 1:12 to play.  Brookens would convert an old-fashion three-point play with 43 seconds left to cut the Panthers lead to one. 

EIU would then sink six straight free throws to ice the contest as Skipper-Brown made the first pair with 34 seconds left as he finished with ten points including a block on a WIU possession with less than ten seconds remaining.  Josiah Wallace would sink the final four free throws in the final 21 seconds to finish with 22 points.  EIU was 17-of-29 on free throws for the game. 

Marvin Johnson posted a double-double for EIU with 11 points and 11 rebounds while adding six assists.  Sammy Friday IV had 16 points and Kashawn Charles added 11. 

Ramean Hinton had 16 points and eight rebounds for Western Illinois as the Leathernecks finished with a 46-37 advantage on the glass. 

Both teams connected for 52 percent from the field in the second half with WIU hitting 7-of-12 on 3-pointers in the final 20 minutes.   

SIUE Men's Basketball Resumes Regular Schedule

EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. – SIUE men's basketball will resume its regular schedule following its game cancelation Sunday afternoon at Northwestern.

A student-athlete tested positive for Covid-19 using a rapid (antigen) test, which can produce false positives. The student-athlete was immediately given a PCR test at Northwestern and when results were returned Sunday afternoon, that student-athlete was negative for Covid-19.

"I was relieved to learn of the negative test," SIUE Head Coach Brian Barone said. "Our first priority is the health and well-being of our guys."
While waiting for the result of the PCR test, the affected student-athlete returned to Edwardsville separately from the rest of the SIUE traveling party.

The Cougars will return to regular practice and training in preparation for their Ohio Valley Conference opener Friday at Morehead State.

"While I am disappointed that we were unable to play our game at Northwestern, I fully understand and respect the caution exercised by Northwestern and the Big Ten Conference," Barone continued. "And now we will prepare to start OVC play later this week."