ROLLA, Mo. – Missouri S&T led from start to finish Saturday, using its best offensive showing in a half this year to pull away in the second half to wrap up a 79-67 win over Missouri Baptist at the Bullman Multi-Purpose Building.

 

The Miners scored nine of the first 10 points of the contest, taking the early eight-point lead on a three-point play by Mike Malat (O'Fallon, Ill./O'Fallon) at the 15:37 mark. The visiting Spartans were able to cut the lead down to one at 11-10, but the Miners extended back out to seven two minutes later on a fast break lay-in by A.J. Mandani (Brampton, Ontario/).

 

MBU stayed on the Miners' heels for the rest of the half, getting the margin down to two on two different occasions before S&T got two free throws from DeJon Slaughter (Kansas City, Kan./Sumner Academy) with 37 seconds to play and a buzzer-beating jumper from Mandani to take a 30-25 lead to the dressing room.

 

S&T extended that lead to nine by scoring off two Spartan turnovers to open the second half, but MBU continued to battle back and cut the lead to two on a runner by Brandon Roberson with 14:33 to play. The teams would trade baskets over the next three minutes, with the Spartans cutting the lead to two at 45-43 on a layup by Kyle Hubbard at the 11:34 mark.

 

Mandani scored on a short jumper on S&T's next trip down the floor and drew a foul; his ensuing free throw gave the Miners a five-point advantage. The three-point play started a 7-0 run to give the Miners their nine-point lead again at 52-43.

 

The Miners made their decisive surge right after the 10-minute media timeout, pushing a seven-point lead to as much as 18 over the next eight minutes. During that stretch, S&T held the Spartans to only one field goal over a span of over six minutes to take its largest lead of the contest.

 

S&T shot 73.1 percent in the second half and made four-of-five from three-point range; the Miners would finish the day at a season-best 60 percent from the floor. On the defensive end, S&T held the explosive Spartans to just 36.2 percent shooting and forced 24 turnovers in the game.

 

Malat led Missouri S&T with a season-high 18 points, posting 12 of his points in the second half. Mandani finished with a seasonal high as well with 17 points and Bryce Foster (Florissant, Mo./Hazelwood Central) had 14, including 12 in the final 20 minutes.

 

Roberson led the Spartans (4-6) with 17 points, while Rondu Stevens finished with 15.

 

Missouri S&T (2-3) will open Great Lakes Valley Conference play Thursday when it plays at Illinois-Springfield. Game time will be at 7:45 p.m.