WARRENSBURG, MO. – The Maryville men's basketball team traveled to Warrensburg, Mo., and closed 2025 with a road contest at Central Missouri. The Mules used a big early rush and pulled away to down the Saints 110-63. Eric Hackett led the Saints with 14 points, while Noah Courtney added 11 and Kobe Clark hauled down 10 rebounds. Clark reached double digits in rebounding for the third time in the last four games.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
UCM opened the game with two straight 3-pointers. Courtney made one free throw to get the Saints on the scoreboard. However, Maryville fell into a scoring drought and did not score for nearly five minutes. The Saints missed seven shots before Clark sank two free throws. Gabe Clemmons hit Maryville's first field goal of the game, and Preston Clark drained a 3-pointer. The Saints scored five straight points on a pair of Henry Sanchez free throws and a three-point play by Cannon Roth.
 
The Saints tried to stay close and ended the first half on an 11-4 run. Preston Clark made two free throws before Hackett sank back-to-back triples. Preston Clark hit a late 3-pointer as the Saints trailed 59-30 at halftime. Early in the second half, Hackett sandwiched a pair of jumpers around a layup by Clemmons but the Saints never got any closer the rest of the game.
 
STATISTICAL LEADERS
Points: Eric Hackett - 14
Rebounds: Kobe Clark - 10
Assists: three players - 2
3-Pointers: Eric Hackett - 2
Steals: four players - 1
Blocked Shots: Kobe Clark - 1
 
RECORDS
Maryville: 2-10
Central Missouri: 11-4
 
WHAT'S NEXT?
The Saints take a break for the holidays and are next in action Friday, Jan. 2, when they host Upper Iowa for a Great Lakes Valley Conference game in a 5 p.m. tip in Moloney Arena.