The Kansas Wesleyan Coyotes gave Kansas Conference leader Saint Mary all it wanted during the first 27½ minutes of their game Saturday night.

The final 12½ minutes, though, belonged to the Spires. USM used a 13-0 run midway through the second half and pulled away for an 80-67 victory inside the Ryan Sports Center.

The loss KWU into the Christmas break with a 7-6 record, 2-5 in the KCAC; Saint Mary improves to 9-3 and 7-0 in the conference.

The Coyotes led 35-32 at halftime after a solid first-half effort. They led 33-26 with just over 3 minutes left in the half but settled for the three-point advantage after Landon Wagler made two free throws with 15 seconds left.

An Alex Littlejohn basket with 12:44 left in the game gave KWU a 50-47 lead before the Spires embarked on their comeback. They scored the next 13 points and led 60-50 with 8:50 remaining. The Coyotes could not get any closer than eight (60-52) the rest of the way.

USM shot 51.4 percent the second half (18 of 35) that included 6 of 12 shooting from beyond the 3-point arc. Kaedon Bonner scored 11 of his team-high 17 points the final 20 minutes that featured 3 of 5 shooting from long range. He was 5 of 9 from deep for the game.

The Spires made half of their 3-point shots the second half (6 of 12) and were 12 of 25 in the game. They shot 46.2 percent overall (30 of 65) and had just five turnovers.

Littlejohn scored a game-high 19 points and grabbed eight rebounds while Wagler scored 12 and Evens Appolon 10 to go along with six rebounds and two blocked shots.

Overall, the Coyotes were 23 of 51 from the field (45.1 percent), 3 of 15 from 3-point range and 18 of 30 at the free throw line. They won rebounding battle 33-29 but had 13 turnovers that led to 17 Saint Mary points.

KWU will play two exhibition games next week in Hawaii – Hawaii Military Elite on Wednesday and NCAA Division II opponent Hawaii Hilo next Saturday.

The Coyotes resume conference play against Tabor at 7 p.m. January 4 inside Mabee Arena.