St. Louis – Ben Palacios scored a season-high 18 points but the Maryville men's basketball squad dropped a 58-50 decision to visiting Missouri-St. Louis. The Saints went 14-of-14 at the free-throw line, the second most makes in a perfect game since going 17-of-17 against UMSL Jan. 19, 2015. Jaeden Smith sank three 3-pointers and finished with 11 points, while Ari Jackson added 10 points.
 
What Happened:
The Saints were down 7-0 but rallied to tie the game at 12-12 on a Daniel Farris layup. Palacios, who went 8-for-8 at the stripe, hit three free throws for a 15-12 lead. The teams traded the lead and Maryville went up 27-25 after a deep Smith 3-pointer. chipped away and eventually took a 31-30 edge into halftime.
 
The Tritons built a 37-30 cushion before Jackson drained a 3pointer. Two more free throws by Cameron Scales pulled the Saints to 37-35. UMSL built up another seven-point lead at 44-37 midway through the second half. Palacios drained a corner three, and Scales followed with a driving layup to pull Maryville to 44-42 with 8:20 left. However, another 52-45 lead was too much to overcome as the Tritons made six straight free throws in the final minutes to preserve the win.
 
Statistical Leaders:
Points: Ben Palacios - 18
Rebounds: Cameron Scales - 5
Assists: Daniel Farris - 5
3-Pointers: Jaeden Smith - 3
Steals: Jaeden Smith - 3
Blocked Shots: Dylan Ingram - 2
 
Records:
Maryville: 10-11, 4-9
Missouri-St. Louis: 16-6, 10-5
 
What's Next?
The Saints close their homestand Saturday at Lindenwood visits for a 3:15 p.m. game in Moloney Arena.