The Saints men's hoops team barely hung on as they defeated the Highlanders of MacMurray College in a 80-77 nailbiter at home. Maryville improves to 6-8 overall and 3-0 in the St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SLIAC) and extends their win streak to five games. The loss is MacMurray's 14th straight since the start of the season, as they fall to 0-14 overall and 0-3 in the conference.
An eleven point first half lead slowly dwindled away for the Saints in the final minutes of the game, as they found themselves down by one point with 57 seconds remaining on the clock. Sophomore Matt Regan (St. Charles/Fort Zumwalt North) would hit a short floater in the lane to put the Saints back up by three, and fellow sophomore Tim Elwell (Nixa) would hit four free throws in the final 16 seconds to give Maryville the edge.
It was a tight race on the boards, as MacMurray held a 46-43 rebounding advantage over the Saints. Head coach Matt Rogers' squad though, shot 27-62 (.435) from the field and 7-22 (.318) from behind the arc, compared to the Highlanders' 24-69 (.348) shooting from the field and 5-14 (.357) from behind the arc.
Regan led the Saints' attack with 18 points on 6-11 (.546) shooting from the floor, including 2-4 (.500) from three-point range and 4-5 (.800) from the charity stripe. Sophomore Ben Hebl (Brookfield, WI/Milwaukee Marquette) added 13 points on 6-10 (.600) shooting, while freshman Jason Rezabek (Highland, IL) hit 4-6 (.667) from the field and 3-4 (.750) from the line for 11 points.
Elwell finished 4-4 (1.000) from the line and also tallied a game-high six assists. Junior Stephen Bash (Winfield) had a team-high eight rebounds for Maryville, and sophomore Ryan Klein (Wisconsin Rapids, WI/Assumption) chipped in with seven points, seven boards and four assists.
Senior Derek Suttles (Jacksonville, IL) recorded a game-high 24 points and 13 rebounds to lead the Highlanders. Teammate Ryan Eberhart (Troy, IL/Triad) added 18 points, six boards and two steals in the effort.
Maryville will return to action this Saturday, when they travel to crosstown rival Webster University for a 3:00 p.m. conference matchup.