Lebanon, Ill. – The Maryville men's basketball team put three players in double figures but saw a late rally fall short as McKendree held on for an 82-74 win. Dewayne Vass led the Saints with 19 points and five rebounds. Ben Palacios nailed five 3-pointers and also finished with 19 points. Harrison Vickers chipped in 11 for the offense. The Bearcats shot 60.5 percent from the field to keep the Saints at bay.
 
McKendree recap
Maryville grabbed a 20-19 lead midway through the first half on a Dewayne Vass layup. McKendree answered with a 16-4 run to jump ahead. The Bearcats shot 61.9 percent in the first half to establish a 40-28 lead at intermission.
 
Back-to-back 3-pointers from Ben Palacios and Dylan Ingram pulled the Saints to within 40-34 in the second half. McKendree rebuilt an 11-point edge but Maryville responded with six straight points. Kelvin Swims had a layup, and Harrison Vickers and Davis Walker both sank two free throw as the Saints inched back to 45-40. Ingram was fouled shooting a 3-pointer, and he knocked down all three at the line to start an 8-2 burst. After one JT Morgan free throw, Swims sank two straight jumpers to hack the deficit down to just 61-59 with 7:36 remaining.
 
Walker drilled a 3-pointer that made it 69-67 but the Bearcats scored five straight. Swims sank a triple, and a Vass jumper made it 76-72 with 1:19 to play. However, McKendree made a 3-pointer on its next possession and closed out the game by hitting 3-of-4 free throws in the final seconds.
 
Statistical Leaders
Points: Dewayne Vass - 19
Rebounds: Dewayne Vass - 5
Assists: Kelvin Swims - 4
3-Pointers: Ben Palacios - 4
Steals: Kelvin Swims - 3

Records
Maryville: 10-6, 3-5 GLVC
McKendree: 7-8, 3-5 GLVC
 
What's Next?
The Saints head to Indianapolis Monday, Jan. 16, for a 6:30 p.m. CT tip. The game is the last of four straight on the road for Maryville. The Greyhounds took the first meeting 75-58 Dec. 11, in Moloney Arena.