LIBERTY, Mo. - The William Jewell men's basketball team got a key conference win on Saturday, holding on for a 78-76 victory over No. 24 ranked Missouri S&T. The Cardinals improve to 16-8 overall and 12-4 in the Great Lakes Valley Conference. 

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Missouri S&T came out of the gates hot, taking an 8-0 lead and forcing an early Cardinal timeout. Jewell slowly got back in the game as Bradley Lightbourne's layup pulled them within one, 15-14 with under 14 minutes to go in the half. The Miners used another quick run and pushed their advantage to double digits but a drought followed as neither team scored for nearly three minutes. Kanukayi Gudza finally broke the ice with a layup as the Cards tailed 39-35 at the break. 
• Out of the locker room, Jewell used a quick 7-2 run to take their first lead of the game nearly 22 minutes into the action. Three triples from Lightbourne, Justice Sutton, and Ty Romero kept Jewell in front but each time the Cardinals struck the Miners had an answer to stay close. Tied at 53 with under 12 to play, Isaac Patterson went on a personal 8-0 run to give Jewell their biggest lead of the day, 61-53. The Miners briefly took a one point lead late but Ashton Jermain's three put the Cardinals on top for good.   

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• Sutton posted a team high 25 points while Lightbourne added 18 and Patterson 17. 
• Gudza, Lightbourn, Jermain, and, Sutton all grabbed seven rebounds with the former two handing out four assists. 
• Lightbourne added three steals and three blocks. 

UP NEXT
Jewell heads to Lincoln University on Thursday evening before a stop at Missouri-St. Louis next Saturday in the final road trip of the regular season.