Truman State boxscore in PDF

St. Louis - The Maryville men's basketball team built a double-digit lead in the first half but Truman State blazed the nets in the second half to rally past the Saints 97-81. The Saints shot 53.3 percent in the first half but the Bulldogs replied by converting at a 62.1 percent in the second half. Truman State's Cory Myers recorded a triple-double on the evening to lead the visitors.
 
The Saints roared out of the gate by grabbing a 9-0 lead. Jeff Leeson made the first of his four first-half 3-pointers, and Forrester Sims followed with a three-point play. Leeson drilled another triple as the Saints led by nine just two minutes into the game. Truman finally scored but Grant Sims sank a long 3-pointer for a 12-2 advantage, the largest of the night for Maryville. The Bulldogs chipped away at the deficit but the Saints retained the lead. Jimmy Barton hit a 3-pointer, and after a Truman score, Karson King converted from beyond the arc. Later, Barton had a layup, and Leeson's free throw built a 40-32 cushion. The Bulldogs closed the gap to 44-42 at halftime.
 
Truman opened the second half by scoring the first 13 points to take its first lead of the night. Anthony Johnson's 3-pointer got the Saints to within 52-47 but the Bulldogs tacked on another 8-0 burst. A Barton bucket ended the Truman run and cut the deficit to 60-49. However, the visitors scored 14 of the next 16 points and build up a large lead the Saints would not overcome. Maryville made a run using an 11-2 run but never got closer than 14 points.
 
Barton paced the Saints with 18 points, six rebounds and six assists. Leeson and Forrester Sims both finished with 15 points apiece. The Saints rained in 12 3-pointers on the night. For Truman State (14-4 overall, 6-2 GLVC), Myers capped a splendid night with 25 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists.
 
The Saints are 7-13 overall, 1-7 in the conference. Maryville hosts Quincy Saturday in a 3 p.m. tilt in Moloney Arena.