Saints’ Struggles Continue with Loss to Mavericks

Liberal, Kansas – Turnovers proved to be the downfall for the Saints as they coughed up the ball 29 times on the road against the Mavericks of NW Kansas Tech and even though Seward County was able to get 61 points from their bench, they could not stop the Mavs from grabbing an 89-79 win over the green and white.

The Saints struggled to score to start the contest as NWKT pulled in front 7-1 before an NBA range three by Ryle Riddlespurger off the bench put the score at 7-4 Mavs. Nathan Jones entered in and immediately helped Seward County on both ends of the court with a score from an alley-oop layup on offense and a big block on defense to keep SCCC in reach 14-8 until the Mavs pushed their lead to double figures. Dave Olaniyi pushed his way down the lane through the giants in the paint for a reverse layup to score another two points for the Saints who trailed 24-13 with six minutes remaining. A knockdown three by Xavier Alexander put the Saints over the twenty-point mark and a late dunk by Blessin Kimble put the score at 44-25 entering the halftime break.

Another knockdown triple by Riddlespurger opened the second half for Seward County while a drive down the baseline for a layup from Jaden Martin put the score at 59-40 while keeping the scoring run alive for SCCC. An emphatic dunk by Martin off the feed from Olaniyi kept momentum in the favor of the Saints while a knockdown three from Amir Whitlock closed the gap to fourteen 66-52. An offensive putback by Lovasoa Andriatsarafara allowed Seward County to continue slashing away at the Mavs lead and while Olaniyi scored off a timely steal and a last second three by Riddlespurger cut it down to ten, the Saints were unable to overtake NWKT who grabbed an 89-79 win over the green and white.

Olaniyi's 16 points led the way for four Saints who reached double figures in scoring with all four of them coming off the bench as Whitlock, Riddlespurger, and Jones all chipped in 10 points apiece.

Seward County now falls to a 6-16 overall record in the 2023-24 season with a 4-12 record in conference action. They will take the next week off and prepare for next Saturday to host the Coffeyville Red Ravens for a 4:00 PM matchup inside of the Green House.