ABOVE: Martin County West’s Kale Larson looks for a lane in a nonconference boys basketball game in Sherburn Monday night against Saint James.

SHERBURN – The Martin County West Mavericks (3-8) fell to the Saint James Saints 72-63 Monday night in a nonconference boys basketball game despite a late rally by the Mavericks.

“First half we did a good job defensively and just getting ball movement there,” said MCW head basketball coach Phillip Rotunda. “Then the second half is just me trying to be able to do a better job of adjusting to find ways to keep scoring. I know they hit shots and we were more aggressive tonight than we were the first time we played them, just a matter of finishing getting free throws and all those things, but they’re good. They’re a tough team.”

The outside shooting of the Saints was on full display throughout the game playing a key factor in their ability to hold off the late push by the Mavericks.

“A lot of it just comes down to the communication there,” said Rotunda. “Then at the end of the day, the kid [Brennan Kern] hit shots. I mean, it’s a make-or-miss at times there and the number four was hitting shots there and that’s just some of those things. A lot of the time we had a hand in his face. And you just gotta tip your cap to him when he hits those.”

Leading the Mavericks was Jacob Wilmes with 18 points, while Kale Larson had 16 points. Lucas Larson had 13 points, while Kane Sharp had 8 points and Josh Roben had 6 points.

The first-half scoring opened in favor of the Mavericks with Lucas Larson draining a shot from behind the arc ,followed up by a bucket from Roben putting MCW up 7-5. The Mavericks continued to build on the lead with the help of Wilmes and Lucas Larson hitting their shots putting MCW up 13-7. John Boelke of the Saints hit a 3-pointer to start chipping away at the Mavericks’ lead with six minutes left in the opening frame. The Saints were only down by 2 points 25-23. Brennan Kern hit a 3-pointer to give the Saints their first lead of the night 26-25. Wilmes put up 7 more points to help the Mavericks close out the half 34-31.

The second half was when the outside shooting of the Saints got going, giving St. James the lead early in the half going up 41-36 just three minutes into the half. Lucas Larson sank a 3-pointer before the Saints went on a 9-0 run, extending the lead to 53-39. Larson and Sharp got the scoring for the Mavericks going again, slowly cutting into the lead, but the offense of St. James held the Mavericks at bay 68-55. In the final three minutes of the game, the Mavericks made a late push where a Lucas Larson bucket started an 8-0 run, putting MCW within 5 points 68-63 with under a minute left on the clock. However, the Saints would add 4 more points before the final buzzer, closing the game up 72-63.

The Mavericks host Cleveland at 7 p.m. on Friday.