Mustangs enter Heart win column

LAMONI, Iowa -- The Mount Mercy men's basketball team picked up their first league win on Saturday, opening up a 13-point halftime lead en route to a 90-76 defeat of Graceland in a Heart of America Athletic Conference match up at the Morden Center.

The Mustangs (3-4, 1-3 Heart) rebounded from the lowest scoring output of the season against fourth-ranked William Penn on Thursday, hitting the 90-point mark for the fifth time in seven games. Mount Mercy, who leads the NAIA with nearly 15 made 3-point field goals per game, buried 18 against the Yellowjackets (2-6, 1-6 Heart).

Bailey Basala (SR/Moline, Ill.) knocked down seven of them while pouring in a game-high 31 points. He also collected seven rebounds. Keishun Thomas (SR/Chicago, Ill.) hit five treys during a 19-point, six-board effort. RoyShawn Webb added 18 points, six assists, and four steals while Dennis McKinney (SR/Chicago, Ill.) finished with 13 points, a game-high nine rebounds, and four assists.

Graceland was led by Nick Coleman's 19 points, eight rebounds, six assists, and three steals. Dhimani Hernandez and Winslow Martin II each had 15 points and seven boards.

Mount Mercy is off until 2021 when they travel to La Crosse, Wis., to face Viterbo on Saturday, Jan. 2, at 5:00 p.m. at R.W. Beggs Gymnasium.