William Jewell boxscore in PDF
Liberty, Mo. - The Maryville men's basketball team built a double-digit lead in the second half but William Jewell mounted a big rally and dealt the Saints a 66-63 defeat Thursday night in Liberty, Mo.
The Saints were holding a 19-16 lead before back-to-back 3-pointers by Marvin Grant-Clark and Grant Sims pushed the Saints to a 25-16 lead. The Cardinals scored to end the Maryville burst but Anthony Johnson nailed a jumper, and Forrester Sims followed with a layup for a double-digit lead at 29-18 with just over four minutes left in the first half. Karson King knocked down a jumper as the Saints took their biggest lead of the half at 31-18. Maryville took a 31-22 lead into halftime.
WJC cut the gap to 35-26 before the Saints reeled off a 10-2 burst. Jeff Leeson sank a 3-pointer, and Johnson scored for a 40-26 advantage. The Cardinals hit a layup but Jimmy Barton answered with a 3-pointer for a 43-28 lead four minutes into the second half. Maryvile's margin grew to 45-28. The Cardinals cut into the gap with their own 10-2 run to claw back to single-digits at 47-38 with 12 minutes to play.
William Jewell used a barrage of 3-pointers and chopped the Maryville lead down to forge a tie at 51-all at the 8:04 mark. Johnson converted a layup to put the Saints back up but the Cardinals scored two hoops to jump ahead 55-53, their first lead since the first minute of the game. Forrester Sims forced a 55-55 tie but the Cardinals sank two free throws for a 59-55 edge. Barton drilled consecutive 3-pointer as the Saints surged back on top 60-59. Jorge Perez-Lanham converted two at the charity stripe as the Cardinals retook a 61-60 margin. After a Maryville turnover, Patrick Whelan sank two more at the free-throw line for a 63-60 lead with 42 ticks to play. Barton made one free throw but Easton Koch sank two more at the line for a 65-61 lead. Grant Sims scored on a layup with 3.3 seconds to play. Maryville fouled but Clark Minnifield split a pair at the line for a 66-63 lead as the Saints were unable to score again.
Forrester Sims and Grant Sims led the Saints (7-15 overall, 1-9 GLVC) with 13 points apiece. Leeson sank three 3-pointers and added 11 points. Whelan led William Jewell (5-12 overall, 1-8 GLVC) with 31 points and finished with 11 rebounds. The Maryville defense limited the Cardinals to 37.9 percent shooting but WJC sank 14-of-16 at the line.
Maryville closes out its two-game road swing with a contest at Rockhurst Saturday afternoon.
