Maryville-Trevecca Nazarene boxscore in PDF
Cedarville, Ohio - Jeff Leeson tied his career high in scoring with 17 points but Trevecca Nazarene rallied to defeat the Maryville men's basketball team 72-65Â in the Saints season opener at the Callan Classic hosted by Cedarville University. The Saints take on the host Yellowjackets Saturday afternoon.
Holding a 6-3 lead, the Saints scored seven straight points to grab a double-digit lead. Marvin Grant-Clark made a 3-pointer, and Forrester Sims scored in the lane. Anthony Johnson converted two free throws five minutes in for a 13-3 lead. Later, Sukhman Bhinder splashed a 3-pointer for a 21-12 Maryville lead midway through the half. Leeson hit a jumper for an 11-point lead, and Maryville was still up 27-16 with just under five minutes left. However, TNU outscored the Saints 14-2 to end the half to take a 30-29 lead at intermission.
Early in the second half, Grant Sims drained back-to-back triples to put the Saints ahead 37-34 four minutes into the second period. Damyan Stoyanov scored with just over 10 minutes left in the game as Maryville built a 46-41 lead. The Trojans chipped away and took a 50-49 edge. Leeson answered from beyond the arc to put the Saints back ahead. Forrester Sims sank a 3-pointer for a 55-53 lead with 6:05 to play before the Trojans went on a 10-0 run to take the lead. Forrester Sims converted a three-point play to pull the Saints to 63-58. Down 65-58, Grant Sims nailed a 3-pointer, and Grant-Clark knocked down a jumper to pull the Saints to 65-63 with one minute to play. The Trojans hit a key 3-pointer for a five-point lead. Evan Booker made one free throw to trim the deficit to 68-64 but the Saints never got any closer.
Leeson hit three 3-pointers to match his previous career best output of 17, and he added five rebounds. Grant-Clark added 15 points, while Forrester Sims added 10 points and pulled down a team-high seven rebounds. Donovan Donaldson and Devin Whitfield led Trevecca with 24 and 23 points, respectively.
