LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Missouri S&T held a lead beyond halftime Thursday against highly regarded Bellarmine, but the Knights used a strong shooting performance and a big run early in the the second half to propel them to an 81-65 win in a Great Lakes Valley Conference contest.

 

S&T held a two-point lead at the intermission after trailing by as many as 12 points in the first eight minutes of the game. After falling behind 19-7, the Miners fought back and caught up with the Knights at 30 apiece when Byron Bundy (Columbia, Mo./Hickman) nailed a three-pointer with 1:33 to go in the half.

 

Moments later, Bellarmine coach Scott Davenport was assessed a technical foul and the Miners took their first lead on the ensuing free throws by Bryce Foster (Florissant, Mo./Hazelwood Central).

 

Luke Sprague's basket off a rebound knotted the score at 32, but the Miners took the lead to the locker room when A.J. Mandani (Brampton, Ontario/) grabbed a long rebound of a miss in the final seconds of the half, split two defenders and went in for a breakaway layup to give the Miners a 34-32 lead just before the buzzer sounded.

 

S&T, who shot 56.5 percent in the first half and outscored Bellarmine 27-13 to close the half, extended the lead to six on a jumper and then a pair of free throws by Foster. But the Knights – who have lost only once at home over the last two seasons – rattled off 19 straight points over a span of four minutes to take control of the contest.

 

Justin Benedetti started the run with a layup at the 18:30 mark, as Bellarmine made seven of their eight field goal attempts – including four straight three-pointers – during the stretch. Benedetti scored 14 of his game-high 24 points in the run.

 

The Miners were able to get the lead down to seven on a tip-in by Foster at the 11:44 mark and had a chance to get even closer, but after a missed shot, Jeremy Kendle nailed a three-pointer to put the lead back into double figures for the balance of the night.

 

Foster led the Miners (7-14, 3-10 GLVC) with 18 pointsm while Adam Knollmeyer (Linn, Mo./Linn) finished with 14. S&T also got 12 from Mandani and 11 from Bundy as it finished the night at 46.3 percent from the field and committed only 14 turnovers against an aggressive Knight defense.

 

Bellarmine (15-7, 8-5 GLVC) shot 62.1 percent in the second half and made eight of its 11 three-point attempts after shooting just 36.7 percent in the first 20 minutes. Besides Benedetti's 24 points, the Knights also got 18 from Sprague and 12 from Kendle.

 

The Miners will play Saturday at Northern Kentucky (12-10, 5-8 GLVC) in a 4:15 p.m. contest (Central time). The Norse knocked off 14^th-ranked Drury 65-61 Thursday night.