It’s Mania Night for Maryville men’s, women’s basketball teams

It’s Mania Night at Maryville University for men’s and women’s basketball.

The Saints men’s basketball team (15-4, 5-2) has won four straight heading into a home contest against Drury University of Springfield. Tipoff for the Great Lakes Valley Conference West Division game is 7:30 p.m. Thursday (Jan. 24). Before the men play, the women’s team hosts Drury at 5:15 p.m.

It will be the annual Mania Night at Maryville. This year’s theme is “Rock of Ages,” and all fans are encouraged to come to the games dressed as their favorite rock star or rock band. After the doubleheader of games, a Mania Dance will be held in CSE at 9:30 p.m.

The Panthers are tied with the Saints atop the West Division with a 5-2 record. Overall, Drury is 11-4.

The Saints are 15-4 and 5-2 in the GLVC. Maryville has won four straight league games for the first time since joining the conference.

Asa Toney leads the Saints with 15.9 scoring average. He has 77 assists and 30 steals. Armon Provo is second on the squad with a 12.8 scoring average and is second on the team with 59 assists and 27 steals. Lone senior Gerald Shaw adds 10.8 points a game. Trae Pemberton ranks second in the GLVC in 3-point field goal percentage at .491.

Drury is second in the league in scoring at 82.5 points a game and 3-point field goal percentage at 41.5. The Panthers also top the conference in 3-pointers made (9.0), assists (20.2) and steals (11.0) per game.

Alex Hall is fifth in the GLVC with 17.0 ppg, and Ian Carter leads the team with 5.9 rpg. Brandon Lockhart leads the conference with 6.4 assists per game and steals at 3.47 an outing.

Maryville remains at home Saturday (Jan. 26) when the Saints host Missouri S&T in a 3:15 p.m. game. The Miners, of Rolla, started the week with a 5-9 overall record, 1-6 in the GLVC. The Miners are fourth in the league in rebounding margin at plus 4.7. Mudi Eruteya tops the team in scoring at 13.9 ppg, is the GLVC’s leading rebounder at 8.9 per game and has a team-high 44 assists. Nasrath Khan adds 10.7 ppg to rank second on the squad.

In women’s basketball, Maryville is 8-7 overall and 4-3 in league play.

Senior forward Abby Duethman is nearly averaging a double-double with 17.2 points a game and she leads the GLVC with 9.6 rebounds a game. Brittnye McSparron is second on the team with 11.5 points a game, and GLVC Freshman of the Year and GLVC Tournament MVP sophomore guard Shelby Miller has hit 27 3-pointers and is averaging 10 points a game. The Saints are second in the league in scoring margin at  plus 12.9 and in turnover margin at plus 5.4.

The Panthers are 8-7 overall, 2-5 in the GLVC. Bethanie Funderburk is third in the conference in scoring at 16.7 points a game and hits 86.6 percent from the line. Abby Bracker leads Drury with 6.5 rebounds per game. Drury leads the league in free throw shooting at 78.3 percent.

Maryville entertains Missouri S&T at 1 p.m. Saturday.

The Miners sit atop the GLVC West Division with a 6-1 record and are 10-5 overall. Hailee Parks is fifth in the league with a 16.3 scoring average, tied for sixth in rebounding at 8.3, and is second in field goal percentage at 57.6. Kyesha Hall is second in the conference with 2.7 steals per game. Deep threat Toni Knar has made 40 3-pointers and is shooting 44.4 percent from beyond the arc.

To watch Saints home games online featuring Voice of the Saints Jim Powers, log on to www.maryvillesaints.com/showcase.