BOLIVAR, MO. – A late shooting dry spell doomed the Maryville University men's basketball team, which led for a large portion of the game, in a 94-74 loss at Southwest Baptist. The contest was the season finale for the Saints. Noah Courtney led the Saints in double figures with a season-high 26 points. Evan Palmquist had 14 points, Henry Sanchez finished with 13, while Eric Hackett notched 11 points.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
Trailing 29-23, the Saints scored five straight points on three Noah Courtney free throws and a bucket by Evan Palmquist. SBU went up 32-28 before Eric Hackett drained back-to-back 3-pointers to put the Saints ahead. Courtney tacked on a jumper for a 36-32 advantage. The Bearcats tied the game at 36-36 before Henry Sanchez tallied six straight points. He drained a 3-pointer and tacked on a three-point play to boost the Saints ahead 43-36. SBU rallied to cut the gap to 43-42 at halftime.
 
Early in the second half, Sanchez hit a short jumper to extend the Maryville lead to 53-48. The Bearcats went ahead but Courtney sank two free throws to cut the SBU lead down to just one. The hosts rebuilt a 61-57 edge before Palmquist and Raynard Horry hit consecutive buckets to forge at 61-61 tie. Southwest Baptist retool a 67-61 edge but the Saints answered again. Hackett hit a 3-pointer, and an Horry drive brought the Saints to 67-66 with nine minutes remaining. However, SBU scored 11 of the next 13 points to take a double-digit lead and the Saints never were able to cut the deficit back to single digits.
 
STATISTICAL LEADERS
Points: Noah Courtney - 26
Rebounds: Kobe Clark - 8
Assists: Raynard Horry - 5
3-Pointers: Noah Courtney - 4
Steals: Raynard Horry and Evan Palmquist - 2
Blocked Shots: Kobe Clark and Noah Courtney - 2
 
RECORDS
Maryville: 3-25, 1-19
Southwest Baptist: 13-14, 7-12