Box Score

ROLLA, Mo. – Missouri S&T's men's basketball team turned a 12-point deficit into a seven-point lead in the early stages of the second half, but was unable to hang onto the advantage and dropped a 71-69 decision Tuesday to Lindenwood-Belleville in its home opener at Billy Key Court.

The Miners led 44-37 with 14:19 remaining in the game after overcoming the early deficit, but saw the Lynx (3-1) chip away at the lead and eventually tie it at 47 with 8:43 left.  S&T regained the lead when Bryce Foster (Florissant, Mo./Hazelwood Central) hit a pair of free throws at the 8:18 mark, but a three-point play by Allen Siedle 40 seconds later put the Lynx back in front.

Curtis Okafor (Kansas City, Mo./Bishop Miege)'s lay-in on the Miners' next trip down the floor gave the lead back to S&T, but LaQuan Pierce answered at the other end to spark a 9-2 spurt that gave Lindenwood-Belleville the lead for good.

S&T kept making runs at the Lynx in the final 90 seconds, getting to within two five different times.  The Miners got a layup by Foster with 21 seconds left to make it 66-64, then drew an offensive foul by Justin Koger to get the ball back.  However, the Miners missed a pair of shots at the basket and were forced to foul.

With five seconds to go, Julian Johnson (St. Louis, Mo./Whitfield School) scored to cut the lead to 69-67 and the Miners sent Todd Starks to the free throw line a moment later.  Starks made the second of two free throws, then fouled Nusrath Khan (Morton Grove, Ill./Maine East) coming up the floor to send him to the line with two seconds to go. 

Khan made the first free throw, then banked in the second while trying to intentionally miss the shot to give the Miners a shot at tying the game.  Koger made one of two at the line with 1.3 seconds on the clock and S&T was unable to get a shot off before the final buzzer sounded.

The Lynx came out of the gate hot, taking an 11-0 lead over the first 3:40 of play before the Miners got their first points on the scoreboard.  Lindenwood-Belleville made five of its first six shots from three-point range to help build its early lead.

The Miners still trailed by 12 at the 8:46 mark, but outscored the Lynx 18-6 over the balance of the half – including a 9-0 run that gave it its first lead of the night at 36-34 – and went to the locker room tied at 36.

S&T proceeded to score eight of the first nine points of the second half to take its largest lead of the night of seven points.  However, foul trouble began to plague the Miners after they took the seven-point lead and the Lynx took advantage by going 21-of-29 at the foul line in the final 20 minutes.

Foster led the Miners with 21 points on the night, while Khan finished with 15 off the bench.  S&T shot 50 percent in the opening half, but made only 32.4 percent from the floor in the second half.

Pierce had a double-double for the Lynx, finishing with a game-high 24 points and 10 rebounds.

Missouri S&T (0-3) will continue its homestand Saturday when it hosts Newman at 3 p.m. at Billy Key Court.