Westminster men fall to NCAA Div. II Maryville

The Blue Jays couldn't contain the Saints 3-point shooting in a 72-56 road loss on Saturday.

Maryville - an NCAA Division II team - knocked down 42 percent (13-of-31) from beyond the arc in handing Westminster its second straight loss.

The Blue Jays (2-8) hit just 2-of-14 from long distance, but converted 48 percent (21-of-45) overall from the floor.

Westminster trailed 33-30 at halftime, but scored the first four points of the second half, taking a one-point edge on senior guard Brandon Moore's layup with 18 minutes, 36 seconds left in the second half.

The Saints (5-4) responded with a 16-0 run over the next 3:05 to push out to a 49-4 lead with 15:31 remaining. Maryville's advantage would stretch to as many as 24 points late in the game as they outscored the Blue Jays in the second half 39-26.

Moore led Westminster with team highs of 12 points and four rebounds. Freshman guard Tanner Cochran scored eight points, freshman guard Jaime Villalobos added seven, while junior forward Kellen Brondel and sophomore forward Tanner Gentges each logged six.

Trae Pemberton led the Saints with a game-high 26 points, connecting on 9-of-12 from the floor and all five of his 3-point tries. Forrester Sims and Armon Provo each tallied 14 points as Maryville finished 47 percent (26-of-55) from the field.

Max Mischkulnig led the Saints with five rebounds. Maryville finished the game outrebounding the Blue Jays 34-26.

Westminster returns to the court with a St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference road game at MacMurray (Illinois) College at 3 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 3.