By: John Kean, Sports Information Director
ST. LOUIS, Mo. – Missouri S&T's men's basketball team used a big run in the early stages of the second half to break free from Maryville University Thursday night and post their second straight win in Great Lakes Valley Conference play with an 89-75 win.
The Miners shredded the Saints' defense for a season-high 62.1 percent performance from the floor and had five players score in double figures. However, it took a big run early in the second half to finally get control of the contest against the pesky Saints.
S&T held a 49-45 lead after a fast-paced first half, as the Miners shot 65.5 percent in the first 20 minutes. The Saints were able to stay in the contest at the free throw line, where they were 17-of-22 and on the and on the boards where they held an 11-rebound edge in the half.
The Saints tied the game at 52 a little over a minute into the second half on a three-pointer by Tyler Saxton, but Adam Knollmeyer (Linn, Mo./Linn) converted back-to-back baskets, first off an assist from Hank Harris (Topeka, Kan./Highland Park) and the second on a put-back of his own miss to get the Miners back into the lead.
Knollmeyer's baskets started a 25-7 run by the Miners over a stretch of eight minutes that gave S&T its biggest lead of the contest. The Miners eventually got the lead to 18 just before the midway point of the second half before the Saints were able to trim it into single digits with less than three minutes remaining.
S&T saw its lead get cut to nine on a Chris Rebuck trey with 2:53 to go and Maryville had a chance to draw even closer, but the Miners forced a missed three-pointer and a turnover on the Saints' next trip down the floor. Following the turnover, MIke Malat hit a jumper in the lane only a moment before the shot clock expired with 1:25 left to stem the run.
The Miners (7-13, 3-9 GLVC) were led by Byron Bundy (Columbia, Mo./Hickman) with 20 points, while Malat had 17 and A.J. Mandani (Brampton, Ontario/) finished with 14. The Miners also got 12 points from Bryce Foster (Florissant, Mo./Hazelwood Central) and 11 from Harris as they made 36 of their 58 shots to help overcome a massive rebounding deficit of 42-23.
Maryville, which lost for the 11th straight time, got 19 points from Steven Gallian. The Saints (2-18, 0-11 GLVC), who lead the NCAA Division II ranks in three-pointers attempted on the year, made only seven of their 32 tries from behind the arc and shot 37.5 percent on the night.
The Miners will be idle until next Thursday when they face Bellarmine in Louisville, Ky. Game time will be at 8 p.m. Eastern time.
