ROLLA, Mo. – For the second time in three days, Missouri S&T made a run at an upset over a nationally ranked team, but saw the hope fade in the final 10 minutes of the contest as Kentucky Wesleyan took control of the game down the stretch to claim a 71-60 win over the Miners at Billy Key Court.

 

S&T was right with No. 8-ranked Southern Indiana Thursday night until the Eagles got away from them in the final nine minutes and Saturday's game followed a similar pattern. The Miners led at halftime and were down by only two when the clock wound under the 10-minute mark, but the 13^th-ranked Panthers ran off 10 straight points to seize control and post their 16^th straight win, the longest active streak in NCAA Division II.

 

The Miners held the Panthers to just 36.7 percent shooting in the first half which led to them taking a four-point lead to the locker room. The two teams traded the lead six times in the first half, but S&T scored the final six points of the half and Bryce Foster (Florissant, Mo./Hazelwood Central)'s basket with 20 seconds to play before the half ended gave the Miners a 33-29 lead.

 

Kentucky Wesleyan regained the lead by scoring the first five points of the second half, but S&T moved back in front when Byron Bundy (Columbia, Mo./Hickman) was fouled on a three-pointer and connected on all three free throws.   KWC's Desmond Stephens tied the game with a layup and Maros Zuffa scored on a put-back 34 seconds later to give the Panthers the lead for good at 38-36.

 

The Miners stayed close over the next seven minutes and closed the gap to two when Hank Harris (Topeka, Kan./Highland Park) scored on a layup with 10:04 left, but the Panthers' Shawn Rouse hit a contested shot in the lane to start the decisive run. Moments later, Marico Stinson made a steal and scored on a layup, a play in which S&T committed an intentional foul that led to two more free throws from Stinson to make it an eight-point game.

 

S&T was able to trim the lead to six on a basket by Adam Knollmeyer (Linn, Mo./Linn) with 4:33 remaining, but that wound up being as close as the Miners would get down the stretch as they fell to 5-9 overall and 1-5 in the Great Lakes Valley Conference – with three of the GLVC losses to teams with a combined record of 45-1.

 

Mike Malat (O'Fallon, Ill./O'Fallon) led the Miners with 15 points and was one of four S&T players in double figures Saturday. Bundy finished with 12 points, while Knollmeyer scored 11 and Foster 10 for S&T.

 

Stephens led all scorers with 16 points and also had nine assists in the game; four Kentucky Wesleyan players reached double figures Saturday. The Panthers (16-1, 5-0 GLVC), the league leader in rebounding margin, also had a 42-27 advantage on the boards over the Miners.

 

The Miners will play their next two games on the road, beginning Thursday against Saint Joseph's in Rensselaer, Ind., at 7:30 p.m.