Box Score

WICHITA, Kan. – A furious rally in the final two minutes fell short Saturday as Missouri S&T dropped its second game in as many days at the Newman Conference Challenge, dropping a 63-59 decision to West Texas A&M Saturday afternoon.

The Miners trailed by as many as 16 points in the second half and still trailed by 11 with 1:43 to play, but made a run at the Buffaloes to get to within one possession.  But after getting to within two after Carlton Westbrook (Centralia, Ill./Centralia) banked in a three-pointer with 1.3 seconds remaining, West Texas A&M threw a long pass down the floor and got a basket at the buzzer for the final margin of victory.

S&T took a deliberate approach on the offensive end throughout the first half, running the shot clock down on nearly every possession.  However, the Miners were plagued by poor shooting throughout the first half – making only five of their 24 field goal attempts (20.8 percent) and trailed 24-16 at the half.

A basket by Michael Jackson (Wichita, Kan./Wichita East) and a three-pointer by Carlton Westbrook (Centralia, Ill./Centralia) cut that margin down to three in the first two minutes of the second half, but S&T scored only three points over the next five-plus minutes and found themselves down by 13 with less than 13 minutes remaining.  The Buffalo lead would grow to 16 at the 10:06 mark after a basket by Kennon Washington.

A Washington lay-in with 2:06 left gave West Texas A&M a 59-48 lead, but the Miners started chipping away at that lead beginning with a pair of free throws by Filmore Bouldes (Romulus, Mich./Romulus) with 1:43 to go.   Westbrook scored on a fast break after goaltending was called on the Buffs' Courtney Carr with 1:06 left, then after Mike Bables hit a pull-up jumper in the lane as the shot clock was expiring, Westbrook made one of two at the line to make it an eight-point game.

Carr missed the front end of a one-and-one with 15 seconds left, then Bouldes made the first of two and after missing the second, Jackson grabbed the rebound and scored with 7.3 seconds to go to cut the lead to five.

Moments later, Bables missed the front end of a one-and-one and Westbrook banked in a three to make it 61-59.  The Buffaloes threw the inbounds pass down the floor, where Carr tapped it towards the basket and allowed Donald Sims to score at the horn to end the game.

S&T overcame its shooting struggles in the opening half to go 12-of-16 after the intermission, including a five-of-six showing from three-point range in the final 20 minutes.  Westbrook and Jackson – neither of whom scored in the first half – finished with 19 and 11 points resepectively to lead the Miners.  Westbrook was named to the all-tournament team for his efforts in the two-day classic.

Washington had a game-high 22 for the Buffaloes (2-0) while Sims recorded a double-double with 18 points and 15 rebounds.  The Buffs shot 50 percent for the game, despite missing all 13 three-point attempts, and held a 31-27 advantage on the boards over S&T.

The Miners will open their home schedule Tuesday when they face Lindenwood-Belleville (2-1) in a 7 p.m. contest at Billy Key Court.