KANSAS CITY, Mo. - The William Jewell men's basketball team solidified themselves as the kings of Kansas City basketball on Monday night with a 79-73 win at Rockhurst University, completing the season sweep of the Hawks. The Cardinals improve to 9-8 on the season and 6-3 in conference play, tied for third in the league, while Rockhurst falls to 10-7 and suffered their first home loss of the season.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Both teams traded early runs as the Cardinals jumped out to a 10-0 in the first three-plus minutes forcing an early Rockhurst timeout. The Hawks followed with a 9-0 run of their own over the next three minutes. 
• Leading by two with under 12 minutes to play in the opening half, Isaac Patterson was fouled on a three point attempt and connected on all three free throws to jump start a Jewell run. The Cardinals outscored RU 23-14 after a three from Mason Alexander to make it a 39-28 lead at the intermission. 
• Rockhurst opened the second half with an 11-2 run before a free throw by Kobe McKinley and a three from Patterson ended the skid. From there, the Cardinals grew their lead to as many as 15 after another triple from Alexander. The Hawks got back within five in the last minute but Jewell made free throws to keep their rival at bay.  

KEY STATS

• Alexander and Jermain were nearly impossible to stop from long range, combining to go 10-for-17 from the three point line. Alexander scored a season high 25 while Jermain finished with 20, and both also handing out three assists. 
• The Cardinals combined for a season high best seven blocked shots, with McKinley posting four, Heri Tshiyoyo two and Grant Stubbs one. 
• Tshiyoyo also grabbed a team high 14 rebounds.  
• Jewell shot a season best 55% from the field and 56.5% from three. 

UP NEXT
The Cardinals will look to win their third in a row and close out the road trip with a stop at Drury University on Thursday at 7:30 p.m.