SAINT MARY-OF-THE-WOODS, Ind. -- Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College relied on two defensive stops in the last 20 seconds to hold off Brescia University 76-74 in a key River States Conference men's basketball matchup on Tuesday at Hamilton Arena.

Saint Mary-of-the-Woods led 75-74 in the final seconds, before Cobie Barnes grabbed a key rebound off a missed 3-pointer with 3.7 seconds remaining and was fouled.  Barnes hit one of two free throws to increase the lead to 76-74.

On the final Brescia possession, Calvonta Shaw hit the rim with a halfcourt shot that fell out as Saint Mary-of-the-Woods won its 22nd game of the season and improved to 16-1 in River States Conference.

Barnes led the Saint Mary-of-the-Woods offense with 28 points and 9 rebounds.  Greg Jenkins and Chaz Birchfield added 14 points each, with Birchfield adding 8 rebounds and Jenkins contributing 5 assists.

Saint Mary-of-the-Woods continued its strong defensive performances of the 2023-24 season by outrebounding the Bearcats 45-38 and holding Brescia to just 29% from 3-point range.  Gonzalo Luque led five Brescia players in double figures with 14 points.

Other key contributors included DaMeriz Merriweather with 7 points and 5 rebounds; Tarik Dixon with 5 points; Greg Johnson with 4 points; and Shon Tupuola with 4 points and 7 rebounds.

Saint Mary-of-the-Woods won its 4th game by one possession and 6th game by less than 5 points in the team's remarkable season under first-year head coach Jesse McClung.  The Pomeroys will host postseason tournament quarterfinal action next week starting Feb. 28, and conclude the regular season at Oakland City University on Saturday.