LEAVENWORTH, Kan. – A 16-point deficit at halftime was too much to overcome for the University of Saint Mary men's basketball team, as they fell to Southwestern 70-58 inside the Ryan Sports Center Wednesday night.

The Spires are now 8-7 overall and 4-7 in the KCAC.

Southwestern jumped out to an 18-10 lead in the first half after a three-pointer at the 12:20 mark. The Moundbuilders scored another five straight points before Lavar McCullough ended the drought for the Spires with a basket. Saint Mary closed the gap briefly bringing the deficit to single digits, but SC extended it again before leading 43-27 at the break.

Midway through the second half and trailing by 15, the Spires started to mount a comeback as Raylon Howard, Luke Mackey and Jaylon Rucker brought Southwestern's lead down to six. Saint Mary trailed 49-43 with 11:32 remaining. Southwestern was able to hold off a rally from the Spires however, and led by double-digits throughout the remainder of the game.

Rucker and Howard each scored 16 points to lead the Spires. Howard and Brad Hailey led the team with six rebounds each. Southwestern shot 42.9 percent from the field, while USM posted a 33.9 field goal percentage.

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The Spires will host Avila University on Saturday at 1 p.m.