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With Maryville holding a one-point lead with 12 seconds left, Armon Provo swished a 3-pointer from the top of the key at the shot clock buzzer to help the Saints edge McKendree 72-69 in a Great Lakes Valley Conference thriller at Moloney Arena.
Provo’s clutch trey gave the Saints a 71-67 lead before the Bearcats pushed the ball for a quick basket to cut Maryville’s lead to 71-69 with 4.5 seconds remaining. Provo went to the line and hit the front end of a one-and-one for a 72-69 lead. His second free throw rattled out and the ensuing scramble ran the clock down to one second left. The possession arrow gave McKendree the ball, but the Bearcats desperation 3-pointer was well short as the Saints escaped with the win.
The Saints tallied the first four points of the game on buckets by Armon Provo and Max Mischkulnig. The Saints maintained a slim advantage and were still up 17-14 before reeling off an 11-2 run. Asa Toney scored inside, and Trae Pemberton followed with a layup. Provo converted from in short to build a 23-14 lead midway through the first half. After the Bearcats tallied to break up the run, Toney drilled a 3-pointer, and a Myles Jerrett hoop boosted the Saints to a 28-16 edge. McKendree went on a 12-2 run and jumped back into the game at 33-31. The Saints closed out the half with the last six points when Jamel Johnson hit a wing jumper, and Provo sank a layup and then two free throws at the halftime buzzer for a 39-31 lead.
The Saints eventually pushed their lead up to 48-38 on a Pemberton 3-pointer with 16 minutes to play. The Bearcats came back and took their first lead of the game. The teams traded the team and game was tied five times . McKendree was up 61-60 with five minutes to play before Jamel Johnson pushed the Saints ahead with a layup at the 4:24 mark. Mischkulnig blocked a shot, then scored on Maryville’s next possession to build a four-point lead. Both teams hit two free throws, and McKendree closed the gap to 66-64. Toney scored on a crossover move in the lane to a 68-64 lead with 1:59 remaining. McKendree cut the gap to one when Mike DiGregorio sank a long 3-pointer to pull the Bearcats to one to set up the late-game dramatics.
Toney led the Saints with 21 points on 9-of-17 shooting, and he added seven rebounds. Provo finished with 16 points and six assists, while Gerald Shaw added 12 points and nine rebounds. Matt Murphy led the Bearcats with 20 points, while John Steppe finished with 19 points and six boards.
The Saints improve to 12-4 overall, 2-2 in the GLVC, while McKendree is 7-6, 1-2 in the conference. Maryville returns to action Saturday, Jan. 12, when No. 4 Bellarmine comes to town for a 3:15 p.m. tilt.
