St. Louis – Despite committing just three turnovers, the Maryville men's basketball team dropped its Great Lakes Valley Conference opener to Illinois Springfield 76-67. Dewayne Vass tallied a season-high 21 points, and JT Morgan snared 10 rebounds to pace the Saints. Vass sank 10 of his 15 attempts from the field, while Luke Williams added 17 points, and Colin Schuler chipped in 11.

Illinois Springfield recap
The Saints scored the first four points of the game and eventually took an 11-2 advantage after a Schuler 3-pointer at the 14:47 mark. The Maryville defense did not allow a UIS field goal until nearly six minutes into the game. The Saints led 14-6 on a Williams 3-pointer but the Saints did not score for over four minutes themselves as UIS took a 21-14 gap. Morgan's two free throws ended the UIS run, and Trey Redd added two more at the stripe to trim the gap to just 21-18. UIS went back ahead 30-21 but the Saints closed the half on a 10-2 burst. A Schuler triple at the buzzer brought Maryville to within 32-31 at the break.
 
The Saints opened the final 20 minutes with the first four points on a Vass free throw and a Williams 3-pointer for a 35-32 lead. The Prairie Stars responded with nine straight to go back on top 41-35. Two straight buckets by Vass pulled Maryville to 45-43 with 13 minutes to play. UIS went on a 10-2 burst and took a double-digit lead. Six straight points trimmed the gap to 60-54. The Saints made one more rush on a Morgan layup and a deep Williams 3-pointer to chop the margin down the 68-63 with 2:26 remaining. Another hoop by Williams made it 70-65 but the Saints never were able to cut the deficit to one possession.

Statistical Leaders
Points: Dewayne Vass - 21
Rebounds: JT Morgan - 10
Assists: Dewayne Vass - 3
3-Pointers: Luke Williams - 3
Steals: Dewayne Vass - 3
Blocked Shots: Anthony Holden and Trey Redd - 1
 
Records
Maryville: 3-2, 0-1 GLVC
Missouri Valley: 5-3, 1-0 GLVC
 
What's Next?
The Saints remain at home in Moloney Arena as Quincy visits Saturday, Dec. 2, for a 3:15 contest.