After the two teams traded the lead four times in the first half, Blackburn took a five-point advantage heading into halftime. Maryville came out strong at the start of the second half and cut the lead to two just two minutes in. The Beavers, however, answered and increased their margin to as many as six points in the next four minutes.
Freshman Casey Holland would sink a three-point shot with 13:12 remaining in the half to bring Maryville back within three points of the lead, but Blackburn once again answered with a run that would bring their lead to 12 points with only three minutes remaining.
At the 2:57 mark, with the score 67-55 in favor of the Beavers, Maryville went on a 7-0 run to get within five points. Blackburn's John Essington would sink two free throws to take his team back up by seven, but Henderson knocked down two treys to make the score 69-68 with 24 seconds remaining on the clock.
Henderson would foul out immediately after making his second three-point shot, sending the Beavers' Corey Waters to the charity stripe for two shots. Waters sank both shots to make the score 71-68, and after a timeout by Maryville head coach Matt Rogers, the Saints had one last possession and 22 seconds on the clock to tie the game. Junior Ben Hebl replaced Henderson in the lineup and would get a shot off with three seconds left, but Blackburn's Luka Djedovic barely got a hand on it, as the shot fell short and the Saints' hopes of making a repeat trip to the NCAA Tournament ended.
Henderson, who was named to the All-Tournament Team, finished with 13 points and was 3-of-4 (.750) from behind the arc. Sophomore Jason Rezabek also had 13 points, and Hebl finished with eight points and six rebounds. Holland and junior Matt Regan chipped in with five rebounds a piece, while Regan also score eight points, dished out five assists and tallied three steals in the loss.
Waters led the Beavers with a game-high 17 points, while he and teammates Matt Maddox and Dee Jones each grabbed a game-high seven rebounds. Todd Stevens also added to Blackburn's victory with 12 points, while Essington and Jones had 10 points a piece.
Blackburn will face the winner of #4 Principia vs. #1 Webster, on Saturday at 7:00 pm in the tournament championship.
Newspaper Box Score Maryville University vs Blackburn College 2/25/05 6:00 at Webster Univ. - Grant Gymnasium At Webster Univ. - Grant Gymnasium BLACKBURN COLLEGE 71, MARYVILLE UNIVERSITY 68 MARYVILLE UNIVERSITY (10-16) Rezabek, Jason 5-9 3-4 13; Henderson, Marcus 5-9 0-0 13; Holland, Casey 3-4 2-2 9; Hebl, Ben 3-8 0-0 8; Regan, Matt 2-4 4-4 8; Hulbert, Andrew 3-6 0-0 6; Andrews, Josh 2-2 0-2 4; Damrell, Matt 2-4 0-2 4; Elwell, Tim 1-7 0-0 2; Klein, Ryan 0-3 1-3 1; Arand, Ben 0-1 0-0 0; Turpen, Mike 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 26-59 10-17 68. BLACKBURN COLLEGE (17-9) Waters, Corey 5-12 5-6 17; Stevens, Todd 4-7 0-0 12; Jones, Dee 4-5 2-5 10; Essington, John 3-12 4-7 10; Djedovic, Luka 3-12 2-4 9; Maddox, Matt 3-3 1-4 7; Barnett, Nick 2-5 2-2 6. Totals 24-56 16-28 71. Maryville University.......... 31 37 - 68 Blackburn College............. 36 35 - 71 3-point goals-Maryville University 6-17 (Henderson, Marcus 3-4; Hebl, Ben 2-4; Holland, Casey 1-2; Elwell, Tim 0-2; Klein, Ryan 0-1; Arand, Ben 0-1; Turpen, Mike 0-1; Hulbert, Andrew 0-2), Blackburn College 7-18 (Stevens, Todd 4-6; Waters, Corey 2-5; Djedovic, Luka 1-6; Barnett, Nick 0-1). Fouled out--Maryville University-Henderson, Marcus; Klein, Ryan, Blackburn College-None. Rebounds-Maryville University 38 (Hebl, Ben 6), Blackburn College 40 (Waters, Corey 7; Maddox, Matt 7; Jones, Dee 7). Assists-Maryville University 14 (Regan, Matt 5), Blackburn College 10 (Essington, John 4). Total fouls-Maryville University 27, Blackburn College 17. A-550 SLIAC Conference Tournament Semifinal: Blackburn advances to the championship. The Beavers will play the winner of the Webster/Principia game.