EHS Grad Jacob Donaldson Has Big Game For McKendree

Jacob Donaldson dunks during action Saturday.

Senior night was celebrated Saturday as McKendree University hosted Missouri Science and Technology from Rolla, Mo. and picked up a 77-68 win.

Effingham graduate Jacob Donaldson had a big offensive game with 17 points and also a huge defensive game as well. Donaldson hit five of nine from the field, with four three-pointers in eight attempts. He was three of four from the free throw line.

He played defense against Mahamadou Kaba-Camera, Missouri's 7-foot center. Donaldson, at 6-foot-6, blocked two shots under the basket but got called for fouls both times. However, Kaba-Camera made only one free throw instead of the four points he would have made.

Donaldson had a slam dunk of his own during the contest.

The Bearcats led for all but one minute of the game. The Bearcats took a nine point lead just 10 minutes into the contest. Over the final 10 minutes of the firs half, the two teams traded offensive runs. The Miners cut the lead to two with just over a minute to go in the opening half but the Bearcats closed the half with a 5-0 run to head into halftime with a seven point lead.

McKendree then jumped all over the Miners in the second half with an 11-2 run to push the lead to 16. The Miners came back to cut the deficit to two but McKendree then had back-to-back three-pointers.

The Bearcats shot 52 percent from the field and 48 percent from the three-point arc. Alijah Thomas and Gooch  rendon had 18 points each to lead the Bearcats.

McKendree improved to 7-6 in the GLVC and 7-6 overall. The seniors, including Donaldson, were honored during Senior Night festivities.

Jacob Donaldson guards Missouri S and T's Mahamadou Kaba-Camera.

Murray State 86, SIUE 57

EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. – Murray State used an extended run down the stretch to win going away Monday, defeating SIUE 86-57 at First Community Arena.

The Cougars fell to 8-12 overall and 6-8 in the Ohio Valley Conference. Murray State has won four in a row and is 12-9 overall and 9-7 in OVC play.

After a pair of free throws from Iziah James with 5:57 to play made it 72-56, Murray State closed out the game on a 14-1 run.  The Cougars missed their last nine attempts.

"It was a 14-point game, we missed a layup that we should have made," SIUE Head Coach Brian Barone said. "That's where it turned."

Murray State was 31-58 (53 percent) from the field and knocked down 12 of 23 (52 percent) three-point attempts.  The Racers knocked down seven three-pointers in the first half and led 46-30 at halftime.

"They hit six three's early," Barone said. "We tried changing up a couple of things defensively. You pick your poison with certain defenses and they capitalized on it."

Tevin Brown was 6 for 9 from three-point range and finished with 18 points. K.J. Williams scored a career-high 28 points to lead Murray State. He grabbed 14 rebounds for his seventh double-double of the year.

Mike Adewunmi paced SIUE with 17 points and seven rebounds. Shamar Wright scored 14 points. It is the fourth straight game he has scored in double figures and the sixth time in his last seven games.

The Cougars combined to shoot just 36 percent from the field and were 5 of 18 from three-point range.  

"It comes down to moving the ball and taking bad shots," Barone said. We had some success when we took good shots and had some good buckets."

SIUE returns to the road for a Thursday game at Austin Peay before facing the Racers again Saturday in Murray, Kentucky.

"We'll take the day off tomorrow and we'll be ready for practice on Wednesday," Barone said. "These guys keep on battling."