Asa Toney’s potential game-winning 3-pointer with two seconds left rattled off the rim as Maryville’s stirring late-game rally narrowly fell short in a 55-53 loss to Rockhurst in Great Lakes Valley Conference action Thursday evening at Moloney Arena. The Saints trailed by 10 with four minutes left before mounting a charge that put them in position for a thrilling comeback.

The Saints took an early 4-2 lead before Rockhurst went on a 14-2 run. The Hawks held that advantage for the rest of the first half. The Saints struggled from the field while Rockhurst remained steady from the field in shooting 53.6 percent in the first 20 minutes. Down by as many as 14, the Saints drew to within 34-25 at halftime.

The visiting Hawks led 38-27 in the second half before Trae Pemberton cut the deficit for the Saints to single-digits with a corner 3-pointer. However, Rockhurst scored nine of the next 10 points to take its biggest lead of the contest at 47-31 with 10:09 remaining in the game. The Saints scored six straight points from the free throw line as Ryan Shotkoski hit four straight. Toney added two more and a jumper by Armon Provo allowed Maryville to pull to within 47-38 with 7:47 to play. Rockhurst still led 52-42 with four minutes left to play before the Saints mounted their charge.

Provo sank a trey, was fouled and his subsequent free throw drew Maryville to 52-46. James Robinson scored on a layup for Rockhurst, but Gerald Shaw swished a 3-pointer as the Saints closed to 54-49 with 2:52 left. The Maryville defense held, and Dana Thomas scored his only points of the game to cut the gap to 54-41. Robinson looked as if he was going to steady the Hawks with a layup, but Ford rejected his shot to give the Saints the ball back again. Shotkoski drove the right baseline and spun in a reverse layup to draw Maryville to 54-53 with just over one minute left. On its next possession, Rockhurst drove the lane but was called for a charging foul. The Saints had two chances to tie or take the lead but misfired on both shots. Robinson was fouled with 9.6 seconds left and he hit the front end of the one-and-one, but his second missed. Jacob Dulle grabbed the carom and fired a pass to Toney who dribbled up to the left of the top of the key and launched the potential game winner which was on target but was just long.

Provo led the Saints with 14 points and hit 5-of-9 from the field, including three 3-pointers, but he was the only Maryville player to reach double figures in scoring. Robinson and Martin Roper led Rockhurst (6-10, 3-5 GLVC) with 11 points apiece.

The Saints are now 8-7 overall, 2-6 in the league. Maryville is back in action at home Saturday, when it hosts William Jewell for a 3:15 p.m. contest.