AUSTIN, Texas – Missouri S&T struggled with Central Oklahoma's frentic pace Tuesday afternoon as the Bronchos handed the Miners a 98-70 setback at the St. Edward's Holiday Classic.

 

The Miners shot the ball well for a better part of the afternoon, connecting on 46.6 percent of their shots. However, a combination of 31 turnovers by S&T and 19 offensive rebounds by the Bronchos – which led to a total of 53 UCO points – doomed the Miners against one of the top teams from the Lone Star Conference.

 

The Miners jumped out to an early 9-2 lead on the strength of two baskets apiece by Bryce Foster (Florissant, Mo./Hazelwood Central) and Mike Malat (O'Fallon, Ill./O'Fallon), prompting Central Oklahoma to use two timeouts in the first two minutes of the game, but the Bronchos overcame the deficit and took their first lead at 13-11 on a three-pointer by Eric Cazanave at the 15:02 mark.

 

The game turned into a seesaw affair for a while after that, with six additional lead changes taking place over the next six minutes. However, UCO regained the lead for good at 30-28 on a putback by Chris Rhymes, part of the 12 second chance points the Bronchos accumulated in the first 20 minutes.

 

S&T shot 45 percent in the first half, but were plagued by 16 turnovers that led to 19 Broncho points and 13 offensive rebounds, of while the Bronchos used to get the dozen points on second opportunities.

 

The Miners trimmed the lead to four early in the second half after a basket by Adam Knollmeyer (Linn, Mo./Linn), but turned the ball over on five of their next six possessions after that to allow the Bronchos to extend their advantage to double figures. Chris Rhymes' three-point play with 15:37 to play gave UCO a 59-44 lead to close an 11-0 run by the Bronchos.

 

S&T was able to get the margin down to 10 at 72-62 with 8:27 to play on a lay-in by Casey Noll (St. Louis, Mo./Oakville), but the Bronchos responded by running off eight straight points to extend their lead to 18 before Knollmeyer's dunk ended the run. The Miners were outscored 26-8 over the final eight minutes of the contest.

 

Foster led the Miners in scoring with 14 points, while Malat finished with 12 and Marquis Jones (St. Louis, Mo./Cardinal Ritter) with 11.   The Bronchos had six players in double figures, led by Cazanave and Tyler Phillips with 18 points apiece, and outrebounded the Miners overall by a 44-31 margin.

 

The Miners (3-6) will play again Wednesday as they will face Southeastern Oklahoma State in Austin at noon.