(KANSAS CITY, Mo., March 21)-The McKendree University men's basketball team had its 2008-09 season come to an end Saturday with a 59-55 loss to MidAmerica Nazarene University in the quarterfinal round of the 2009 Buffalo Funds-NAIA Division I Men's Basketball National Championship Saturday at Municipal Auditorium.

BEARCATS BATTLE TO FINISH, FALL IN NAIA QUARTERFINALS TO MIDAMERICA NAZARENE, 59-55; McKENDREE ENDS SEASON AT 30-6

"Our guys battled out there tonight," said McKendree head coach Harry Statham, who will take 995 career wins into the 2009-10 campaign. "They defended us well in the second half, but we never quit, never gave up. We kept fighting to the finish and that's what I'm proud of with our players. This is a special group."

Senior guard Eric Palm (Machesney Park, Ill./Harlem) closed out his Bearcat with a game-high 24 points, which included a trio of three-point field goals in the final 2:05 of play. Palm collected 2,066 points while wearing the McKendree uniform, which puts him fifth on the team's all-time scoring list. He was the only Bearcat player to score in double figures.

Sophomore guard Andy Wolff (Centralia, Ill./Metro-East Lutheran) and freshman forward Sean Rakers (New Baden, Ill./Wesclin) each chipped in with eight points, while sophomore forward Eric Hobbie (Vandalia, Ill./Vandalia) and junior forward Ken Detmer (Aviston, Ill./Breese Central) each grabbed a team-best nine rebounds.

As a team, the Bearcats shot just 35.6 percent (21-of-59) from the field. McKendree, which led the tournament in scoring through the first two rounds of play at 85 points per game, was held 30 points below its scoring average by the Pioneers.

There were six ties and five lead changes in the first half. McKendree took its largest lead of the period, 23-19, following a three-pointer by Hobbie with 7:45 left in the period. MidAmerica Nazarene pulled even at 25-25 before an off-balance jumper in the lane and free throw by Palm put the Bearcats in front for the remainder of the half.

After leading 30-27 at the intermission, McKendree pushed its advantage to five points on two different occasions early in the second half. The last came at 34-29 following a short jumper by Rakers with 16:46 to play.

The Pioneers used a 10-2 run to take the lead for good, 45-38, with just over nine minutes left. Palm was held scoreless until hitting a three-pointer that bounced around the rim and fell through with 2:05 on the clock, bringing the Bearcats within 51-48. MidAmerica Nazarene's Danny Hawkins scored on the next possession to extend the lead back to five when Palm drained a long trifecta to edge the Bearcats closer at 53-51.

McKendree nearly forced MidAmerica Nazarene into a shot clock violation in the minute when a shot by Cal Kiburz missed the rim and headed toward the baseline. Kiburz grabbed the ball while falling out of bounds and whipped a pass to Brenton Bell, who drilled a 28-footer as the shot clock buzzer sounded, giving the Pioneers a 56-51 lead with 41.5 seconds remaining.

Palm answered with a three-pointer from the corner to cut the deficit to 56-54. The teams traded free throws before two charity tosses by Kiburz with 9.3 seconds to play sealed the win for the Pioneers.

Hawkins paced MidAmerica Nazarene with 19 points and a game-high 17 rebounds. Kiburz added 17 points while Bell netted 12 points. The Pioneers will face another unseeded team, Columbia College, in the NAIA national semifinals on Monday at 8:50 p.m. CDT. The Cougars outlasted Westminster College in a tournament quarterfinal game earlier on Saturday, 50-47.

-McK-