Box Score

ROLLA, Mo. – Missouri S&T and Rockhurst entered the Great Lakes Valley Conference at the same time prior to the 2005-06 season, but it wasn't until Thursday night that the men's basketball team was able to get the upper hand in a contest against the Hawks as the Miners used a strong performance in the final nine minutes to score a 70-56 victory at Billy Key Court.

A big first half by Bryce Foster (Florissant, Mo./Hazelwood Central) and solid performances from Michael Jackson (Wichita, Kan./Wichita East) and Nusrath Khan (Morton Grove, Ill./Maine East) carried the Miners to their first win in 13 tries over the Hawks in GLVC play and to their second win in league action.

After trailing by as many as seven points in the early going, the Miners rallied behind their guards to eventually take the lead.  S&T ran off eight straight points after falling behind 16-9, moving in front on a three-pointer by Foster at the 11:28 mark.  The Miners would take the lead for good in the first half on a lay-in by Jackson at the 7:36 mark and would lead by as many as six in the opening half; S&T would hold a 35-31 advantage at the half.

But the Miners got out of the gate slowly as the second half began, going scoreless for nearly the first three minutes to allow Rockhurst to regain the advantage after a basket by Tom Shirley with 17:34 to go.  S&T regained the lead on a layup by Tommy Pelczynski (Nashville, Ill./Nashville), then the teams swapped the lead over the next three minutes until a layup by the Hawks' Liam Duffy knotted the score at 44.

The Miners and Hawks both went virtually quiet in the scoring column for the next six minutes after the Duffy basket, as the Miners only got a basket from Pelczynski and the Hawks a free throw from Najja Nicholson during that span.  With 8:16 to play and the shot clock winding down, Foster knocked down a three from the wing to put the Miners up by four and spark an 8-1 spurt that put S&T in control of the game.

Jackson had a thunderous follow dunk – one of four on the night – with 6:39 to play to put the Miners up by seven.  Moments later, after Khan hit a three-pointer from in front of the Miner bench, Jackson threw down another dunk to give S&T its first double figure lead at 61-50 with 4:22 to play.  The Miners would hold a lead of at least 11 for the balance of the contest.

Foster, who had been struggling from the field in recent contests, went seven-of-11 from the floor and four-of-six from three-point range to finish with 19 points.  Jackson added 16 and had nine rebounds along with Foster – S&T held a 40-26 rebounding advantage over the Hawks – and Khan finished with 14.

Missouri S&T shot 50 percent from the floor for the night and went seven-of-14 from three-point range in the victory.

Rockhurst got 15 points from Martin Roper – all in the first half – and 12 from Brandon McCann as it shot only 37.5 percent in the game.  The Hawks made just three of their 15 three-point attempts as they dropped to 6-12 overall and 3-7 in the GLVC.

S&T, which improved to 3-15 overall and 2-8 in GLVC play, will face William Jewell Saturday in Liberty, Mo., in a 3:15 p.m. contest.