Metro East Sun

Men's Basketball Clinches Overtime Win Against Truman State, Zurliene Sinks Career-High 33 Points

McKendree University men's basketball defeated Truman State in an intense overtime battle on Saturday afternoon as the Bearcats came away with a 90-88 victory over the Bulldogs. The Bearcats improve to 11-10 overall and 7-7 in the Great Lakes Valley Conference as they prepare to play two GLVC games on the road this coming week. McKendree jumped out to an 11-8 lead over Truman State as junior forward Milos Vicentic netted six of the Bearcats' first 11 points. At 13-5, the Bulldogs' Elijah Hazekemp put up eight points of his own to tie the score 13-13. McKendree responded with a 10-0 run, setting the score at 28-18 with 8:30 to go in the first half. Truman State responded with a run of its own to gain its first lead of the game, 32-31. By the end of the first 20 minutes, McKendree held the lead by just two points at 41-39. 

The Bearcats and Bulldogs battled neck-and-neck as the second half saw seven lead changes and seven ties between the two teams. McKendree led as much as seven points twice in the first five minutes of the half until Truman State gained their first four-point lead of the game at 10:44 to go with a score of 63-59. Both offenses only heated up from there, tying it up at 72-72 with three minutes left in the contest. McKendree was met with a challenge in the final minutes of the game as the team's two leaders in scoring average, Vicentic and senior guard Bryson Bultman, both committed their fifth fouls of the game. At 77-77 with 26 seconds left, Truman State's Hazekamp hit two free throws to give the Bulldogs the advantage.

Coming out of a timeout, sophomore forward Caleb Zurliene, drove the lane, drawing a foul and the chance at two free throws with 14 seconds left. Zurliene sank both shots, giving the Bulldogs a chance at their final possession of the game. 

In what was thought to be the last play of the game, Truman State lost the ball out of bounds, giving the Bearcats one last go with five seconds left. 

Senior guard Aleksander Davitkov fired a three just off the mark with two seconds left as junior guard Carson Parker attempted the put-back that was just short. The Bulldogs and Bearcats headed into a five-minute overtime at 79-79. 

Truman State charged into overtime with a strong offense, gaining a six-point advantage after one minute with an and-1 from forward Dylan Peeters and a three-pointer from guard Xavier Hall. Zurliene and Hazekamp traded two free throws each as the Bulldogs still held the lead, 87-81 with 3:37 to go in the bonus period. Zurliene earned a old-fashioned three-point play with a driving layup and a free throw to cut the Bulldogs' lead to 87-84 at 2:46 left. 

The Bearcats' junior combo guard Hayden Meakes sank two free throws of his own to come within one of Truman State, 87-86. With 1:12 left, McKendree saw its first lead of overtime with a jumper from Zurliene, but committed a foul on the defensive end to give Truman State guard Hunter Strait two tries as the charity stripe. Strait sank only one of the throws, giving the Bearcats one last possession with 24 seconds on the game clock. 

McKendree worked the clock until Zurliene caught the ball just outside the lane, took a dribble towards the rim, and sank the game-winner in the paint. 

McKendree head coach George Suggs said of the win, "I am really proud of the effort from our entire team for this one. Obviously we had a tremendous effort from Caleb and an incredible shot at the end, but it was top-to-bottom a great effort to get a win over a team that is playing really well right now. We will look to keep this momentum as we roll into the final few weeks of the season." 

Zurliene tabbed his third double-double of the year with a career-high 33 points, 12 rebounds, and 5 blocks on the night, shooting 80 percent from the field (12-of-15), 50 percent from beyond the arc (2-of-4), and 78 percent from the free throw line (7-for-9). The McKendree forward recorded his second game of 20 or more points of the week as he scored 26 against William Jewell on Thursday evening. 

Vicentic and Bultman were also in double figures for the contest, netting 17 and 15 points respectively. Bultman was just shy of a double-double with nine rebounds and added a game-high six assists in the victory. 

As a team, McKendree outshot Truman State from the field, 46 percent to 41.5 percent, and from the three-point line, 34.6 percent to 30.0 percent. The Bearcats also won the battle on the boards 42-39, snagging a season-high 13 offensive rebounds. 

With the loss, Truman State drops to 10-13 overall and 5-10 in the GLVC. Peeters and Hazekamp led the Bulldogs with 24 and 20 points, respectively.

The Bearcats will be back in action this week as they travel to Southwest Baptist on Thursday for a 7:30 p.m. game and Rockhurst on Saturday for a 3 p.m. game.

Original source can be found here