St. Louis – The Maryville men's basketball team beat No. 17 Southwest Baptist 81-74 for its first win over a ranked team since toppling No. 7 Truman State Dec. 31, 2020. Ben Palacios topped the Saints with 18 points, while JT Morgan notched his third career double-double on 12 points and 11 rebounds. The game featured 18 lead changes and eight ties as neither team led by more than eight points.
 
Southwest Baptist recap
The Saints were down 32-31 at halftime as the biggest lead of the first 10 minutes of the second half was just three points. SBU held a 50-49 edge before Ari Jackson drained a deep 3-pointer, and Morgan grabbed an offensive rebound for a put back and a 54-50 lead with 9:04 to play. The Bearcats closed the gap to two but Palacios sank a triple and Kelvin Swims scored on a layup to push the Saints ahead 59-52.
 
SBU trimmed the gap down to 64-63 with five minutes remaining. Palacios hit a crucial 3-pointer, and Morgan added layup. Dewayne Vass converted both ends of a one-and-one as the Saints took their biggest lead of the night at 71-63. The Bearcats got to within 75-70 but Harrison Vickers drained a wing 3-pointer as the shot clock was winding down to steady the Saints at 78-70 with 33 seconds remaining. Maryville hit three free throws in the waning seconds to ice the upset victory.
 
Statistical Leaders
Points: Ben Palacios - 18
Rebounds: JT Morgan - 11
Assists: Dewayne Vass - 5
3-Pointers: Ari Jackson - 4
Steals: Dewayne Vass - 2
 
Records
Maryville: 7-2, 2-1 GLVC
No. 17 Southwest Baptist: 5-2, 1-2 GLVC
 
What's Next?
The Saints stay at Moloney Arena as Drury visits for a 3:15 p.m. tip Saturday, Dec. 3.