LEAVENWORTH, Kan. – TheUniversity of Saint Mary men's basketball team fought hard, but fell 82-73 to a tough (RV) Southwestern College team on the road Wednesday night. Three Spires scored in double-digits.

The Spires are now 12-15 overall and 8-15 in the KCAC.

Early on, Saint Mary led 9-4 before the Moundbuilders went on a small run to take the lead. Cameron Southern knocked down back-to-back buckets to give the Spires a 16-13 lead midway through the first half. Both teams traded baskets, but two free-throws and a triple gave Southwestern a six point advantage going into halftime, with a 36-30 score.

In the second half, the Moundbuilers expanded their lead to as many as 15 before the Spires fought their way back into the game. Raylon Howard scored three straight buckets to cut the lead down to single digits. His teammate, Luke Mackey would follow with a nice bucket to make it 61-55 with 8:13 left to play. Southwestern weathered the storm and extended their lead back to double-digits minutes later. A triple by Southern and two made free-throws from Howard put the Spires within reaching distance, but the Moundbuilders executed at the foul line late to deny the comeback from the Spires tough effort.

Howard led the team in scoring with 26. Donovan Sinegal finished with 15 points, and Southern had 13. Dallas Taylor led the team in assists with six.

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The Spires travel to Avila University Saturday in their final game of the regular season. Tip-off is set for 3 p.m.