Blue Jays rally past Maryville in exhibition

ST. LOUIS - The Westminster College Blue Jays erased a 10-point halftime deficit by shooting 54 percent in the second half to hold off NCAA Division II Maryville University in a 73-71 exhibition win Tuesday night.

Westminster trailed 38-28 at the break, but outscored Maryville 45-33 over the final 20 minutes by connecting on 13-of-24 shots.

"We have a lot of guys coming back who played heavy minutes last year," Blue Jays head coach Matt Mitchell said. "We are an experienced team at this stage of the season.

"They've been in a lot of tight games, so they weren't overwhelmed by the moment."

Westminster found itself down by nine points, 62-53, after Sukhman Bhinder hit the second of two free throws with 6 minutes, 3 seconds left in the game. The Blue Jays, though, countered with a 10-0 run and went in front to stay at 63-62 when junior guard Jimmy Villalobos buried a 3-pointer with 3:53 remaining.

Sophomore guard Carter Wands knocked down a pair of free throws with :24 to play to give Westminster a 71-66 edge, but the Saints made it a one-point game when Evan Booker converted two free throws with :06 to go.

Junior guard Tanner Cochran sealed the Blue Jays' victory by making the first of two free throws with no time on the clock.

"This is a resilient group," Mitchell said. "Ultimately, we have got to get back to guys figuring out what they're good at and defining their roles.

"Having this kind of game helps define those roles."

Junior center Sean O'Brien logged a team-high 14 points as all five starters ended up in double figures for Westminster, which shot 46 percent (23-of-50) overall. Villalobos followed with 13 points, junior forward Romo Tabb provided 12 and Wands and Cochran had 10 apiece.

O'Brien and Villalobos both collected eight rebounds as the Blue Jays were edged on the boards 37-36.

"We were very balanced tonight and we were able to make some adjustments on both ends of the floor that cleaned up some areas of the game, and that's because we've done it before," Mitchell said.

Forrester Sims and Marvin Grant-Clark shared game scoring honors with 17 points apiece to guide Maryville, which shot 43 percent (27-of-63) as a team. Anthony Johnson also tallied 10 points.

Westminster opens its regular season against host Millikin University in the SLIAC/CCIW Challenge at 7 p.m. Friday in Decatur, Illinois. The Blue Jays then play Elmhurst at 3 p.m. Saturday.