Hot-Shooting Spires Push Past Eagles

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – An offensive explosion from Saint Mary, especially in the first half, was too much for Avila men's basketball to overcome, as the Spires (5-9, 1-7 KCAC) took down the Eagles (2-11, 1-7 KCAC) in a surprising 87-70 victory on Tuesday night in Mabee Fieldhouse.

The Spires came into Tuesday's contest winless in conference play, shooting about 42% from the field as a team and a little under 35% from three as a team. But Saint Mary left all of that behind against their local rivals Tuesday: the Spires shot better than 50% from the floor and better than 50% from beyond the arc in the game, and shot close to 60% from both levels in the first half alone.

It wasn't even a bad offensive game for the Eagles by any stretch of the imagination. There have been some games this season where the Eagle offense has cost the team chances to win games, but this was not one of those games: the Eagles shot 49% from the field and 39% from downtown, both the second best team clips in those categories this season (both trailing only the game against Ottawa a couple days prior), but even that offensive surge wasn't enough for Avila to rein in a surprisingly hot Saint Mary team.

The game was dead even early and featured seven ties and six lead changes, but all of those came in the first half before the Spires ultimately seized control. For the first few minutes the Eagles had an answer every time the Spires scored, ultimately allowing DJ Pitia to bury a three to give Avila its largest lead, 16-13. Cam Southern answered with a deep ball for the Spires before Jorden Gilmete immediately followed with one of his own off an offensive rebound from Pitia to reestablish that lead.

A bucket from Emilio Elliott and two free throws from Donte' Simpson put the Eagles in front 23-21 around halfway through the first half, but that's when the Spires took over. Deshaud St. Martin started the surge with a bucket and then the threes started falling, seemingly for everyone wearing Saint Mary gold. The score was tied at 23 before the floodgates opened, and the Spires took a 50-41 lead into the intermission.

Both offenses quieted somewhat in the second half, but not enough for Avila to make any headway back into the game. After an early triple from St. Martin, Simpson set up Jonathan Cosby for a bucket to keep the Eagles within ten, but the Spires pulled away from there, building a lead as large as 24 points and ultimately prevailing 87-70.

USM didn't get a ton of production from its bench, but that was counterbalanced by the fact that all five starters finished in double figures, led by 16 points in a strong all-around game from St. Martin, and a 24-point outburst out of nowhere from Southern. Pitia had one of his strongest games in conference play with a team-high 14 points off the bench; Simpson scored 13 with seven assists; Gilmete added 10; Cosby contributed eight points, seven boards and four assists.

Up next, Avila men's basketball will face off against its second NCAA Division II foe of the semester, Rockhurst, this Saturday, December 17, a little ways north towards downtown Kansas City. Tipoff is scheduled for 1 PM; stay tuned to avilaathletics.com for details on how to watch and follow along.