KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Despite its best efforts, the Missouri S&T men's basketball team had a tough time slowing down Aaron Hill on Senior Day on his home court Saturday, as he poured in 17 first half points among his 25 for the day to lead Rockhurst to a 85-71 win over the Miners.

 

Hill, the reigning “Player of the Year” in the Great Lakes Valley Conference and all-time leading scorer at Rockhurst, opened the scoring with a three-pointer on the Hawks' first possession of the day and then proceeded to hit four more from long range in the first 20 minutes. 

 

It was part of a first half that saw Rockhurst hit 10 three-pointers to build a 52-29 lead by the intermission.

 

S&T played on relatively even terms with the Hawks over the first 13 minutes of the contest, trailing by five at 26-21 after a lay-in by Marquis Jones (St. Louis, Mo./Cardinal Ritter) at the 9:16 mark. After the teams went scoreless over the next two minutes, Rockhurst's next three baskets came from beyond the arc to give it a 13-point lead – a lead that would grow to as much as 24 before the half ended.

 

Marquis Jones (St. Louis, Mo./Cardinal Ritter) had a strong game for the Miners as he led the way with a season-high 20 points; Bryce Foster (Florissant, Mo./Hazelwood Central) also finished in double figures with 13. Missouri S&T shot 41.5 percent on the afternoon from the floor.

 

The Hawks (17-10, 12-6 GLVC) had five players in double figures, with Aaron Morrissey finishing with 16 and Jake Meyer ending up with 12. Rockhurst shot 49.1 percent for the game after hitting 60 percent in the opening half.

 

The Miners (7-20, 3-15 GLVC) will open play in the GLVC Tournament next Saturday against Northern Kentucky at 1 p.m., but the site of that game will not be determined until Monday night after the Quincy-Southern Indiana contest is completed.  S&T will go to Quincy if it wins at USI, but a loss by the Hawks will send the Miners to Saint Joseph's for the opening weekend.