McKendree boxscore in PDF

Lebanon, Ill. - Asa Toney scored a game-high 20 points, and Armon Provo hit both ends of a one-and-one with 6.5 seconds left as Maryville rallied for a 75-72 win at McKendree Monday evening in Lebanon, Ill. The Saints used a late 7-0 run to edge ahead and shot .527 for the road victory.

The first half was close throughout as neither team led by more than five until a late Bearcats run pushed them ahead. McKendree scored the first basket of the game before Harrison DuPont converted a layup, and a Toney score in the lane gave the Saints a 4-2 lead. Toney drained a 3-pointer in transition for a 7-2 edge before the Bearcats slowly rallied. The game was tied at 17-all before a Trae Pemberton jumper off the glass was good for a 19-17 Maryville lead. The game was still tied at 23-23 until McKendree scored eight straight and settled for a 41-34 lead at intermission.

The Saints trailed 43-34 before cutting the gap. Myles Jerrett scored inside, and Toney converted a drive. Provo connected from long range to end the 7-0 run as the Saints closed to 45-41. The gap was still 54-45 until consecutive scores by Darrin Young Jr., and Pemberton brought Maryville to 54-49 with 13 minutes to play. McKendree scored but the Saints answered with seven straight points to forge a tie. Toney tallied in traffic and later made one free throw. Pemberton scored on a layup, and the Saints tied the game when Toney went coast-to-coast for a layup to knot the game up 56-56 at the 9:59 mark.

Trailing 60-58, Pemberton drained a 3-pointer from the right wing to push the Saints ahead 61-60 with 7:34 to play. Toney put the Saints back on top with two free throws, and Jamel Johnson's first bucket of the game gave Maryville a 69-66 lead with 3:26 remaining. Clinton Happe hit two free throws to give McKendree the lead before Toney answered with two of his own free throws for a 71-70 lead at the two-minute mark. The Maryville defense made a stop and Provo sank two from the line to build a 73-70 advantage with 59.4 seconds remaining. Mike DiGregorio scored on a drive to cut the Saints lead to 73-72. In the waning seconds, the Saints took a 3-pointer but Toney corralled the offensive rebound, and Provo was fouled with 6.5 seconds to go. The junior calmly hit both ends of a pressure-packed one-and-one for a 75-72 lead. McKendree's Happe took the potential game-tying 3-pointer from in front of the Bearcats bench but his trey was just long as the Saints escaped with the road victory.

Toney led five players in double figures with 20 points to go along with seven rebounds and six assists. Pemberton and Jerrett combined to make 11-of-16 shots and had 13 and 12 points, respectively. The Saints took great care of the ball and committed just six turnovers in the game as Maryville is now 12-11, 6-9 in the GLVC. The Saints converted 13-of-14 from the free-throw line. Happe led the Bearcats (9-14 overall, 3-12 GLVC) with 18 points, and Logan Carson added 15 points. 

Maryville continues its five-game road swing with a game at Truman State Thursday, Feb. 20.