The William Jewell men's basketball overcame a dismal shooting night to earn their 16th win over the year, 84-78 over McKendree on Thursday night in Lebanon, Ill. The Cardinals now stand at 16-4 overall and 6-4 in the Great Lakes Valley Conference. 

HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Cardinals got off to a slow start, falling behind by as many as 11 in the first 10 minutes of the game. Jewell pulled within three only to see the Bearcats expand the lead back seven with 7:05 to go in the first half. 
• Less than two minutes later three consecutive three pointers from Pharroh Gordon, Eysan Wiley, and Patrick Whelan tied the game at 36. The lead changed hands three times over the final four minutes, as McKendree went back on top 42-38 with 59 seconds remaining before Keith Hayes hit two free throws followed by a Nick Bradley three at the buzzer to give Jewell a 43-42 half time advantage. 
• After trading buckets for the first three minutes of the second half the Cardinals began to pull away, taking a 63-51 lead, on a 12- 5 led by four points from Pharroh Gordon. The Bearcats closed the gap over the following eight minutes, pulling within 69-68 on two free throws from Giovanni Offard. Jewell responded with back-to-back threes from Hayes, coupled with an offensive rebound put back from Wiley to push the lead back to nine with just under two minutes to play. 
• McKendree hit three of their final four field goals in an attempt to rally but five free throws and a fast break layup nailed down the win. 

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• Jewell shot a season low 39 percent from the field, but still managed to hit 13 three point shots (43.3 percent). 
• The Cardinals connected on 19-of-25 free throws (76 percent). 
• McKendree won the battle on the glass, outrebounding Jewell 50-39. 
• The Cards committed just 10 turnovers and blocked four shots.  

LEADERS OF THE FLIGHT

• Hayes enjoyed one of hit best offensive nights of the season, pouring in 26 points on 7-of-14 shooting, including 6-of-8 from behind the arc. 
• Gordon narrowly missed another double-double with 20 points and nine rebounds to go along with five assists and three steals. 
• Byron Harp added 18 points to give Jewell three players in double figures, hitting 6-of-10 free throws. 
• Wiley pulled down a team high 10 rebounds along with three blocked shots.

YOU SHOULD NOTE

• Thursday's game marked the first time in men's college basketball history that two head coaches squared off with more than 2,000 wins combined as Cardinals mentor Larry Holley entered the game with 901 wins while McKendree head man Harry Statham boasted 1,122. 
• With the win, Holley earned career victory number 902, moving him into a tie with Bob Knight for ninth on the all-time men's college basketball wins list. 
• The freshman Wiley needs just one block to join the single season top 25 list at William Jewell. 
• With his seven points, senior Whelan moved into 18th on the all-time career scoring list at Jewell surpassing Steve Broughton (1977-81).

UP NEXT
The Cardinals wrap up the road trip on Saturday as they make the drive to Drury University. Tip off is set for 3:00 p.m. and can be seen live on the GLVC Sports Network.