Leavenworth, Kan.—In an electric night in Ryan Sports Center, the Spires survived a back-and-forth double-overtime battle against the McPherson College Bulldogs on Saturday night, pulling away late for a 90-85 win behind clutch plays from the whole USM squad including Joe Clark, Jordan Brown, Damare Smith and Cam Edwards.

Brown led the Spires with 23 points and surpassed 1,000 career points, including one of the biggest shots of the night. With the Spires trailing late in the first overtime, Brown buried a 3-pointer with 18 seconds left to tie the game at 76-76 and force a second extra frame. The guard finished 4 of 8 from beyond the arc and added seven rebounds while logging 44 minutes.

Edwards gave Saint Mary an additional primary scoring option, finishing with 20 points on 7-of-17 shooting and a 5-of-7 effort at the free-throw line. Clark delivered two of the most critical baskets of the night, first hitting a 3-pointer to pull the Spires within 80-79 with 3:26 remaining in the second overtime, then driving for the go-ahead layup that swung the momentum permanently toward Saint Mary.

Saint Mary's composure at the stripe proved decisive. The Spires went 24 of 30 at the free-throw line (80.0 percent), outscoring McPherson by nine points in that category. The Bulldogs finished 15 of 24 (62.5 percent) at the line, leaving valuable points behind in a game that remained within one or two possessions for long stretches. Despite being out rebounded 57-44, including 21-14 on the offensive glass, Saint Mary offset the deficit by committing only 11 turnovers to McPherson's 16 and converting on huge late-game opportunities.

McPherson controlled large portions of the night and built multiple leads, but the Spires never quit. The visitors surged ahead 23-14 in the first quarter after a stretch fueled by Gunn, then opened the second half with a three-point play from Austin to go up 36-35. Talley's transition dunk helped push the margin to 56-47, and his layup in the closing seconds of the second quarter sent McPherson into the halftime break up 66-64. In the first overtime, Gunn and Joseph Gonzales each hit 3-pointers to extend the McPherson advantage to 72-68 before Saint Mary rallied again.

The Spires outscored McPherson 14-9 in the second overtime, finally creating separation in a game that was tied 66-66 at the end of regulation and 76-76 after the first extra period. Joe Clark's driving layup put Saint Mary ahead 83-82 with 1:20 to play in the second overtime, and Edwards followed with a three-point play on a gym disrupting dunk and free throw to stretch the margin to 86-83 with 46 seconds remaining. Kaeden Bonner then sealed it at the line, knocking down two free throws in the final seconds for the 90-85 final.

McPherson finished 31 of 83 (37.3 percent) from the field and 8 of 26 (30.8 percent) from 3-point range, while Saint Mary went 29 of 80 (36.3 percent) overall and 8 of 23 (34.8 percent) from deep.
After weathering multiple McPherson runs and a sizable rebounding disadvantage, the Spires closed the night out with grit in both back court execution and late-game poise. The double-overtime victory over the third ranked conference foe gives the Spires a hard-earned home win and momentum heading into their final four games of regular season.

Up next, the Spires will stay close to home as they travel to the campus of Avila University on Wednesday, February 11^th with tip-off against the Avila Eagles set for 7:30 p.m.