Spires fall to Baker in tourney play

Saint Mary got 20 points from Kevin Harvey and 16 from Jeb Greenberg but it was not enough to overcome Baker in the first round of the KCAC/HAAC Classic Friday afternoon at Ottawa University.

Baker jumped out to a 36-28 halftime lead and held on in the second half for a 71-66 victory.The loss evened the Spires at 2-2 on the season while Baker improved to 2-2. Saint Mary will play Peru State in the second round at 1 p.m. Saturday, while Baker plays Ottawa at 3p.m. Ottawa romped over Peru State 93-66 in its first-round game.

Greenberg, a 6-foot-2 guard, also had 16 rebounds in the game, including eight on the offensive glass as the Spires dominated the board 44-32. Baker, though, pressured Saint Mary with 26 steals and also did a better job from the free-throw line, hitting 21 of 29 shots.

Harvey came off the bench and hit 4 of 9 three-point shots to spark the Spires.

Ben Steinlage led Baker with 17 points and two other players added 15 each.

— Times Report