LATE FOUL CALL GIVES MEN’S BASKETBALL LOSS AT ST. MARY

LEAVENWORTH, Kan. – Despite holding a lead for the majority of the game, a second half comeback by St. Mary and a foul call on a half-court shot attempt gave Avila men's basketball an 81-78 loss at St. Mary on Wednesday night.

Avila led for the nearly the entirety of the first half, stretching its lead to as much as 10 as the teams neared the break, the Eagles would enter the halftime locker rooms with a 43-36 lead. Avila hit six shots from deep in the opening 20 minutes and already had three players in double-figures.

St. Mary would mount a comeback in the second half.

Avila held its lead for almost the entire second half, including bringing its lead to a game-high 11 points with 6:45 remaining.

From there, the Spires ended the game on a 22-8 run, including going 6-8 from the floor and 9-14 from the foul line in the final 6:45.

In the last 10 seconds, trailing by one, Blessing Nwotite missed a three-pointer and the Eagles were fouled on the floor on the rebound attempt.

James Ross III hit both foul shots to give Avila a 78-77 lead with six seconds remaining on the clock.

St. Mary raced down the court and attempted a buzzer-beating three-pointer from just inside half court. On the shot, the Spires were fouled and went to the line for three shots and two more for an ensuing technical. St. Mary went 4-of-5 from the line to ice the game and send the Eagles back to Kansas City with a tight three-point loss.

A fairly evenly-matched game in the box score, Avila was led by 20 points from Joe Kearney, 12 points, five rebounds and seven assists from Xavier Kahube and 12 points off the bench from Jason Ernest. 

Avila will look to get back to its winning ways on Saturday as they take on Tabor from Mabee Fieldhouse at 3 PM.

(photo credit: Ali Nassir)