EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. - The William Jewell men's basketball season came to a close on Saturday night in the semifinal round of the Great Lakes Valley Conference Tournament. Jewell overcame a 10-point halftime deficit to pull within two late but fell to Missouri-St. Louis 59-53. The Cardinals finish the season 15-15, the best mark since 2018. 

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Things started slowly for the Cardinals, falling to an 11-3 hole in the first four minutes with four turnovers. Jewell rallied though, going on a 10-0 run, capped by a three from Trey Shannon, to pull back within two. UMSL finished the half on a 5-0 spurt to lead by 10 at the break. 
• The Tritons opened up the second half with their largest lead of the day at 41-30 before Jewell held them nearly nine minutes without a field goal and just two free throws to close the gap to two, 41-39.
• Trailing by two, 55-53, the Cardinals got a defensive rebound with 22 seconds to play. Jewell got a solid look at the three to take the lead but the ball rolled off the left side of the rim, forcing the Cards to foul to close things out. 

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• In his final game as a Cardinal, Mason Alexander lead the team with 16 points while pulling down five boards. 
• Jermain added 10 points while Heri Tshiyoyo had 11 rebounds. 
• The Cardinals struggled in the first half, shooting 29.6% but came on strong in the second half, shooting 45.8% to close the gap. 

Jewell got to the semifinal round by defeating Lindenwood at home before upsetting top seed Southwest Baptist on Thursday night. Jewell will lose just two players, John Zimmerman and Mason Alexander to graduation and return 13 who saw action this season, including All-GLVC performer Jordan Jermain. The Cardinals will also see the return of guard Robbie Hanson who missed the 2021-22 season due to injury.