Coyotes hold on for 54-51 win over Saint Mary
By: David Toelle, KWU Sports Information

LEAVENWORTH – Kansas Wesleyan fought beyond some dismal free throw shooting at the end of the game to hold on for a 54-51 win over Saint Mary on Saturday night at the Ryan Sports Center.

D’Mario Newton gave Saint Mary an early 2-0 lead on a bucket, but the Coyotes would answer back, blowing the game open early with a 14-2 run to take a 14-4 lead with 12:41 left on a pair of Trey Sims free throws.

Winston Frazier would get the Spires back within five on a three with 10:13 to go in the first half, but the Coyotes would answer back with seven straight points to take a 21-10 lead with 8:21 to go.

A low scoring first half would be capped by Eric Hammond’s score just before the buzzer to give Wesleyan at 29-17 lead at the break.

Wesleyan (6-8, 4-1) would again lead by 12 when Saint Mary would make an initial run in the second half, cutting the lead to six at 33-27 with 16:55 left on a three from Frazier. LaQuinton Ballenger would cut Wesleyan’s lead to five with 15:33 left, and the Spires would take a brief 37-35 lead with 12:15 to go on a pair of Kamrik Lamont free throws.

Willie McCarty, who missed the last three games, scored with 10:52 left to tie things up at 35-all, sparking a 12-2 Wesleyan run to give the Coyotes a 47-37 lead with 5:41 to go.

Saint Mary (2-12, 0-5) would get back within three on a Newton bucket with 2:33 left, but Sims would hit a three to give the Coyotes a 52-46 lead with 2:25 left. Sims would then hit a free throw at the 1:39 mark to give the Coyotes a 53-46 lead.

Frazier would connect again from long range, cutting the Wesleyan lead to four with 1:18 to go when Wesleyan’s foul shooting troubles started. The Coyotes would miss six straight free throws down the stretch, while Saint Mary got within two with 15 seconds left on a pair of charity shots by Newton.

Chris Gold would hit his second of two foul shots to give the Coyotes a 54-51 lead with 11.2 seconds left, and Saint Mary would not get a shot off before the buzzer as Wesleyan escaped with the three point win.

Sims led all scorers with 23 for the Coyotes, while Mychal Henderson had 11 as Wesleyan was 21-of-48 from the field on the night for 43.8 percent. Free throws were the bugaboo for the Coyotes, as they hit just 7-of-20 shots at the line, including going 3-of-12 in the second half. Henderson had seven rebounds, and Tony Boone added nine assists to lead the Coyotes.

Frazier led the Spires with 17 as Saint Mary was 19-of-53 from the floor for 35.8 percent. Chris Robinson had 11 rebounds and Newton added ten as the Spires outrebounded the Coyotes 43-30.

The Coyotes are off until Wednesday, when they host Sterling at 8 p.m. inside Muir Gym, as the Warriors and Wesleyan are tied for a share of the KCAC lead after Sterling’s 61-52 loss to Bethel on Saturday evening. Wesleyan then takes on Friends on Saturday at home.

-- KWU SI --