McKendree (Ill.) Rolls to Easy Victory Over Northwestern Oklahoma
March 19, 2009
Kansas City, Mo. - Eric Palm netted a tournament-high 33 points to help seventh-seeded McKendree University (Ill.) cruise to an 83-58 victory over Northwestern Oklahoma State University during first-round action of the 2009 Buffalo Funds-NAIA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament at Municipal Auditorium Thursday evening.
Palm totaled 20 of his points in the opening 20 minutes as the Bearcats built a 40-25 halftime advantage. He was seven of 10 from the field in the first half, including three of five from beyond the arc. He finished 10 of 16 from the field and nine of nine from the free throw line.
McKendree shot 51.9 percent from the field in the first half, making 24 of its 52 field goal attempts. Defensively, the Bearcats held the Rangers in check, holding them to 42.3 percent in the opening period. Things went from bad to worse for Northwestern Oklahoma in the second half as the Rangers cooled to 32.1 percent.
Eric Hobbie, Brad Copelin and Karrington Pettiford all reached double figures for the Bearcats, tallying 11 points each. Hobbie also grabbed a game-high seven rebounds. The Rangers were led by Brandon Dixon with 16 points and seven rebounds. David Holmes tallied 11 points while Felipe Eichenberger and Termaine Snyder contributed 10 markers each.
McKendree advances to the second round on Friday where it will play either Lindsey Wilson College (Ky.) or Texas Wesleyan University at 9:45 p.m. CDT. The Bearcats are currently 29-5 on the season. Northwestern Oklahoma ends its season with a 20-12 mark.
GAME NOTES
McKendree led by as many 31 points before eventually winning by 25 points, the largest margin of victory in this year's tournament ... Palm finished with 33 points, his third 30-point game of the season ... Palm also surpassed the 2,000-point mark for his career when he notched his 18th point in the first half ... Northwestern Oklahoma received 44 points from its bench, including a team-high 16 from Brandon Dixon ... McKendree advanced past the first round for the third straight season and is now 11-12 overall in the tournament and 8-5 in first round contests ... Northwestern Oklahoma falls to 3-7 all-time and 2-5 in first round matchups ... McKendree is the fourth straight No. 7 seed to advance to the second round.
