No. 6 seed McKendree University captured the 2023 Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) Men's Basketball Championship crown on Sunday with a 62-51 victory over No. 5 seed University of Missouri-St. Louis at Hyland Arena in St. Charles, Mo.
McKendree, with the program's first Conference title, has earned the league's automatic-qualifying bid to the 2023 NCAA Division II Midwest Regional, as they await the Selection Show tonight at 11 PM Eastern Time.
The Bearcats led wire-to-wire, increasing their lead to as much as 16 at the end of the first half and never letting the Tritons get closer than five points in the second half, becoming the first 6-seed to win the postseason tournament. Missouri-St. Louis held an advantage in bench points, 12-0, and second-chance points, 13-0, but McKendree held a significant shooting advantage from the field, 51.1%-34.5%, and even more so from three-point range, 46.7%-12.5%; though, both teams shot 69.2% from the foul line.
McKendree had three players finish in double figures, led by Bryson Bultman (6'5''-G) with a game-high 20 to go with eight rebounds. Milos Vicentic (6'7''-F-2001) had 18 points on 7-of-13 (53.8%) shooting, and Caleb Zurliene (6'8''-G/F) scored 13 with eight boards, and tallied two game-high numbers in assists (five) and blocks (three). UMSL's leading scorer was Isaiah Fuller (6'2''-G), who finished with 18, while Drew Cisse (6'10''-F) scored eight and grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds.
Vicentic was named to the All-Tournament team as the Most Valuable Player after his weekend efforts, while teammates Bultman and Zurliene were also recognized. UMSL's Fuller and Bowen Sandquist (6'3''-G) rounded out the five-player squad.

Courtesy of glvcsports.com

All-Tournament MVP: Milos Vicentic (6'7''-F-2001) of McKendree
Player of the Year: Kendrick Tchoua (6'7''-C) of Indianapolis
Defensive Player of the Year: Isaiah Fuller (6'2''-G) of UMSL
Freshman of the Year: Logan Applegate (6'2''-G) of Drury
Coach of the Year: Paul Corsaro of Indianapolis

All-GLVC First Team 2023

Weber

Bingham II

Tchoua

Bultman

Fuller

Byhre

First Team
Jack Weber (6'6''-F) of UIS
Jesse Bingham II (6'6''-G) of Indianapolis
Kendrick Tchoua (6'7''-C) of Indianapolis
Bryson Bultman (6'5''-G) of McKendree
Isaiah Fuller (6'2''-G) of UMSL
Rich Byhre (6'8''-F) of Rockhurst
Mitch Ganote (6'2''-G) of SW Baptist
Quinn Nelson (6'3''-G) of SW Baptist
Elijah Hazekamp (6'5''-G/F) of Truman St.
Jordan Jermain (6'2''-G) of William Jewell

All-GLVC Second Team 2023

Kunnert

Frericks

Palacios

Vicentic

Okeke

Smith

Second Team
Max Kunnert (6'4''-G) of UIS
Beau Frericks (6'1''-G) of Lewis
Ben Palacios (6'5''-G/F) of Maryville, MO
Milos Vicentic (6'7''-F-2001) of McKendree
Ikenna Okeke (6'6''-F) of Missouri S&T
Julien Smith (6'2''-G) of Missouri S&T
Lovell Williams (6'2''-G) of Missouri S&T
Bowen Sandquist (6'3''-G) of UMSL
Malik Hardmon (6'6''-F) of Quincy
Paul Zilinskas (6'5''-G/F) of Quincy
Mason Alexander (6'0''-PG) of William Jewell

GLVC All-Defensive Team 2023

Wakefield

Hanna

Bingham II

Robinson

Zurliene

Froebe

All-Defensive Team
Brock Wakefield (6'3''-G) of Drury
Jacob Hanna (6'3''-G) of UIS
Jesse Bingham II (6'6''-G) of Indianapolis
Jakobie Robinson (6'7''-F) of Indianapolis
Caleb Zurliene (6'8''-G/F) of McKendree
Kaden Froebe (6'3''-G) of Missouri S&T
Isaiah Fuller (6'2''-G) of UMSL
Mitch Ganote (6'2''-G) of SW Baptist
Kobe McKinley (6'6''-G) of William Jewell
Heri Tshiyoyo (6'9''-C) of William Jewell

GLVC All-Freshman Team 2023

Applegate

Young

Enright

Brown

Dinkins

All-Freshman Team
Logan Applegate (6'2''-G) of Drury
Andrew Young (6'8''-F) of Missouri S&T
Matt Enright (6'0''-PG) of UMSL
Timaris Brown (6'5''-F) of Rockhurst
Drenin Dinkins (6'0''-PG) of SW Baptist

GLVC All-Sportsmanship Team 2023

Piper

Wright

Nicoson

Zrnic

Palacios

Hensler

All-Sportsmanship Team
Ryce Piper (6'4''-G) of Drury
Michael Wright (6'5''-G) of UIS
Ben Nicoson (6'0''-PG) of Indianapolis
Vlado Zrnic (6'6''-F) of Lewis
Ben Palacios (6'5''-G/F) of Maryville, MO
Luke Hensler (6'8''-F) of McKendree
Kelly Vaughn (5'11''-PG) of Missouri S&T
Bowen Sandquist (6'3''-G) of UMSL
Zion Richardson (6'5''-G-2001) of Quincy
Rron Thaci (6'5''-F-2001) of Rockhurst
Ayden Stone (6'5''-F) of SW Baptist
Trey Shearer (6'0''-PG) of Truman St.
Robbie Hanson (6'2''-G) of William Jewell

GLVC All-Tournament Team 2023

Vicentic

Bultman

Zurliene

Fuller

Sandquist

All-Tournament Team
Milos Vicentic (6'7''-F-2001) of McKendree
Bryson Bultman (6'5''-G) of McKendree
Caleb Zurliene (6'8''-G/F) of McKendree
Isaiah Fuller (6'2''-G) of UMSL
Bowen Sandquist (6'3''-G) of UMSL