The Saint Mary men's basketball team went 1-1 over Thanksgiving Week to make their overall record 4-5. The Spires are now 2-1 in KCAC play. On Tuesday, Saint Mary bested Sterling on the road 90-70. The Spires hosted #10 Dakota Wesleyan on Saturday and fell 82-75.

The Spires were dominant in the win at Sterling. After trailing by two points early on the Spires went on to outscore the Warriors 53-29 in the first half and held a 24 point advantage at halftime. Saint Mary would push out to a 28 point lead in the second half before settling for the 20 point victory. The 53 first half points were the most in any half for the Spires this season.

Brett Marsh led the Spires in points with 21. He also pulled down a game high seven rebounds. Demetrius Cady added 18 points. Teyvon Lundy and Edvonte Copeland each had five assists. Copeland also had four steals. The Spires forced Sterling into 20 turnovers. Saint Mary finished with just 15 turnovers and tallied 30 assists in the win. The Spires shot 46% from the field, 45% from three, and 92% from the free throw line.

In the loss to Dakota Wesleyan, Saint Mary battled the #10 team in the NAIA to the finish. After trailing 18-9, Saint Mary rattled off an 11-2 run to tie the game at 20-20 with 9:15 left in the first half. The Spires trailed just 43-41 as they headed into halftime. Saint Mary regained the lead on a bucket from Lavar McCullough with 12:24 on the clock in the second half.

From there, Dakota Wesleyan would slowly pull away leading by as many as nine points before Saint Mary got back to within five with just six seconds left. The Spires would eventually fall 82-75. A cold shooting night prevented the upset. Saint Mary shot 41% from the field and 39% from three while Dakota Wesleyan shot 53% from the field and 48% from three.

The men's basketball team will be back in action when they host Kansas Wesleyan on Wednesday at 8pm in the Ryan Sports Center. The Coyotes are 4-3 on the season and 2-1 in KCAC play.