KENOSHA, Wis. – Missouri S&T overcame a 13-point deficit to take the lead in the second half, but Wisconsin-Parkside answered with a run that put it ahead for good as it held off the Miners 80-77 Saturday afternoon.

 

A 7-0 spurt by the Rangers moments after S&T took its first and only lead of the second half moved the advantage back to UW-Parkside. The Miners were able to close the gap to one in the final minute, but were unable to get off a potential game-tying shot in the waning seconds.

 

The first several minutes of the contest featured a low-scoring affair, as the Miners led 8-7 after a lay-in by Marquis Jones (St. Louis, Mo./Cardinal Ritter) at the 13:50 mark. A little over four minutes later, Justin Taylor (Webster Groves, Mo./Webster Groves) hit a three-pointer to put the Miners within three at 14-11, but the Rangers ran off seven of the next 10 points to take a seven-point lead.

 

S&T cut what ended up being a 12-point lead down to eight late in the first half, but LaVontay Fenderson drained a contested three-pointer as the buzzer sounded to give the Rangers a 41-30 lead at the break.

 

S&T fell behind by as many as 13 early in the second half, but drew even at 56 with 10:45 to play on two free throws by Owain Hall (Kingston, Jamica/).

 

A little over a minute later, the Miners grabbed their first lead since the early stages of the contest when Adam Knollmeyer (Linn, Mo./Linn) got the roll on a short jumper in the lane. However, the Rangers answered with seven straight points, moving in front on a three-pointer by Dave Keane and a layup off a steal by D.J. Dantzler moments later.

 

The Miners – who shot 63.3 percent in the second half – kept clawing away and cut the gap to three on three occasions.  Curtis Mosley's trey at the 1:28 mark made it 75-72, then Jones hit a layup with 50 seconds to go to cut it to three again at 77-74. After UWP's Marcus Carter made one of two at the line, Casey Noll (St. Louis, Mo./Oakville) drained a three to make it a one-point game with 23 seconds remaining.

 

The Rangers (5-9, 2-4 GLVC) extended their lead back to three again after breaking the S&T pressure and getting a layup from Dantzler, but the Miners still had a chance to tie it in the final seconds. However, the Miners couldn't get a shot away and ended up turning the ball over on the perimeter just before the buzzer.

 

Jones led a four-player Miner contingent in double figures with 16 points, while Knollmeyer finished with 13. S&T also got 11 points from Noll off the bench and 10 from Taylor.

 

Fenderson, the leading scorer in the nation at the NCAA Division II level, led all scorers with 20 points that was six points below his season average of over 26 points a game.  Parkside shot 61.2 percent on the afternoon, including nine-of-11 from three-point land.

The Miners (5-7, 0-4 GLVC) return home for their next two contests, beginning Thursday against Saint Joseph's at Billy Key Court. Game time will be at 7:30 p.m.