The William Jewell College men's basketball team returned to the Mabee Center on Monday to face to Yellow Jackets of Graceland University. The Cardinals used a strong second half performance to win big 81-51

After a poor shooting first half (11-29 field goals) and leading by only four points, the team was able bounce back in the second half by hitting sixty-three percent of their shots (17-27).

Graceland grabbed a quick lead (eight points) with 13:43 remaining in the first half before Jewell went on a 18-3 run ending at the 6:21 mark. The Cardinals lead at halftime was 33-29.

In the second half, the Cardinals came out shooting, quickly growing their lead to twenty points with 7:30 left on the clock. The lead only got bigger from there, and reached the thirty-point mark in the final minute of play.

Christian Hildebrandt led the Cardinals in scoring, putting up 24 points on 9-17 shooting, including four three-pointers. Darius Tomlin contributed 14 points for Jewell.   Muusa Dama led the team in rebounds, grabbing nine. Tomlin and Austin Regier each had 8 boards on the night. 

The Yellow Jackets' leading scorer was Liberty native Max Francisco, who put up fifteen points and also led the team in rebounds, with 9.

The Cardinals (1-3) return to the court on Thursday as they open up Great Lakes Valley Conference play against cross-town rival Rockhurst University at 7:30 p.m.