Box Score

QUINCY, Ill. – Missouri S&T cut well into a pair of double-digit Quincy advantages in the second half, but couldn't get close enough to pull out a victory in the final minutes as it dropped a 69-58 Great Lakes Valley Conference men's basketball decision in Pepsi Arena Saturday afternoon.

S&T went toe-to-toe with the Hawks over the first seven minutes of the contest, trailing by a 15-13 margin after Carlton Westbrook's (Centralia, Ill./Centralia) lay-up at the 12:29 mark.  But the Hawks went on a quick 8-0 run, taking a 23-13 lead following two free throws by Courtney Belger.

The Miners cut that lead down to seven after a lay-in by Tommy Pelczynski (Nashville, Ill./Nashville) at the 7:18 mark, but the Hawks dominated play in the latter stages of the first half, building their lead to as many as 17 points with 2:30 to play.

Quincy led 41-27 at the break, then extended its lead to 16 before the Miners began cutting into the advantage.  S&T drew to within 11 on a three-point play by Eli Steinbeck (Hermann, Mo./Hermann) at the 16:48 mark, then Michael Jackson (Wichita, Kan./Wichita East) scored off his own miss to get the margin down to nine with 15:50 left.

With 13:24 to go, Pelczynski – who singlehandedly kept S&T within striking distance with 14 points in the first half – dropped in a turnaround jumper in the lane to get the Miners with seven at 47-40.  However, the Hawks outscored the Miners 10-1 after the Pelczynski basket to extend their lead back to 16 by the nine-minute mark.

However, the Miners were not through, drawing to within 10 after Bryce Foster (Florissant, Mo./Hazelwood Central) hit a lean-in jumper with 5:57 to go.  Then with 3:16 to play, Jackson made the front end of a one-and-one to make it 63-54; Jackson scored again on S&T's next trip down the floor to make it a seven-point game.
Quincy's Chris Babbitt missed the front end of a one-and-one with 2:18 to give the Miners a chance to get even closer, but Ryan Stuckman stole the ball away from Johnson on the baseline and Babbitt would make a pair at the line with 1:38 remaining.

Pelczynski would knock down a short jumper with 1:18 on the clock to get S&T back to within seven again and the Miners had one more chance to cut the margin down, but a missed shot led to a dunk at the other end by Belger with 31 seconds to go to put the game on ice.

Pelczynski led all scorers in the game with a season-best 23 points as he was the only Miner to finish in double figures.  S&T, which shot 46 percent from the floor for the game, also got nine points and a season-high eight assists from Westbrook.

Quincy got 17 points from its leading scorer for the season, Justin Brock, who had missed the two previous games and most of a third with an ankle injury.  Scott Hahn added 15 points and Babbitt 11 for the Hawks (12-5, 5-4 GLVC).

The Miners (2-15, 1-8 GLVC) return home to face Rockhurst Thursday at Billy Key Court.  Game time is at 7:30 p.m.