LIBERTY, Mo. - The William Jewell men's basketball team shot nearly 53% from the floor on Friday night as they defeated Purdue Northwest 79-66. With the victory, the Cardinals, who put four players in double figures, have won their season opener for the seventh straight year. 

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Both offenses got off to a sluggish start out of the gate, as Jewell trailed 12-11 after 11 minutes of action in the opening half, until Ashton Jermain's three put the Cardinals in front. With five minutes remaining Jermain hit two free throws followed by four points from Ty Romero to extend the Jewell lead to nine. Purdue Northwest got a bucket and two free throws late to trail 35-30 at the intermission. 
• The visitors used a quick 9-3 run to cut the lead to just two in the early going of the second half, before the Cardinals got a 12-5 run of their own, capped by a Romero fast break slam to give Jewell a double-digit advantage at 66-55. A late triple by Kyle Scharbrough extended the advantage to 14-points as the Cardinals went 4-for-4 from the free throw line down the stretch. 

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• Jewell put four players in double figures, led by Romero's 21 off the bench in his collegiate debut. Justin Sutton added 19 with Isaac Patterson totaling 12 as both players returned from missing most or all of last season.
• The Cardinals were 20-of-26 from the free throw line and went 21-for-51 (52.8%) from the field while handing out four assists, led by Patterson's four.  

UP NEXT
Jewell returns to action on Saturday afternoon with a 4 p.m. match up against Davenport University who fell to Rockhurst on Friday, 82-72.