Box Score RENSSELAER, Ind. – A nip-and-tuck affair for much of the night didn't go in favor of Missouri S&T's men's basketball team, as Saint Joseph's took the lead for good with just over five minutes to play and held off the Miners down the stretch for an 82-72 win at Scharf Alumni Fieldhouse.

With the Pumas leading by one, Ryan Rebholz hit three-pointers on consecutive trips down the floor to extend the Pumas lead and force the Miners into a rally mode, but the Miners couldn't get any closer than six in the final moments as they dropped to 4-7 overall and 0-4 in the Great Lakes Valley Conference.

The Miners fell behind early in the contest after Michael Nesbitt (Evansville, Ind./LaLumiere School) scored the first basket of the contest, as the Pumas scored eight straight to take a six-point lead.  S&T rebounded and took the lead back at the 11:53 mark on a three-pointer by Julian Johnson (St. Louis, Mo./Whitfield School).

The next several minutes turned into a back-and-forth affair, as the lead changed hands 11 times in the first 20 minutes.  S&T took a 26-25 lead when Nesbitt converted a pair of free throws at the 6:43 mark, but the Pumas ran off another eight in a row and took a seven-point lead in the process.

Saint Joseph's would eventually extend its lead to nine with just under three minutes to go in the half, but the Miners scored the final seven points before the intermission – on two baskets by Mudi Eruteya, one by Curtis Okafor (Kansas City, Mo./Bishop Miege) and two free throws by Eli Steinbeck (Hermann, Mo./Hermann) to cut the lead to two at the half.

The Miners continued the run to start the second half with seven straight points, moving back in front on a Nesbitt three-pointer and taking their largest lead of the game at 44-39 on a jumper by Eruteya at the 17:44 mark.  However, the Pumas answered and turned the contest back into a back-and-forth affair.

After D.J. Martinez tied the game at 52 with 11:40 to go, Eruteya drilled a three-pointer on the Miners' next trip down the floor to put the Miners back into the lead.  Saint Joe's tied the game again moments later on a lay-in by Damon Ellison, but S&T went in front again with 9:23 to play when Julian Johnson (St. Louis, Mo./Whitfield School) beat the shot clock with a foul line jumper.

The Miners maintained their lead – but were unable to extend it past three points -- over the next four minutes, allowing the Pumas to take the lead back with just over five minutes to go on Michael Lipton's jumper following an S&T turnover.

S&T had a chance to get the lead back after the final media timeout, but a pair of missed free throws led to the first of the two Rebholz three-pointers that extended the Saint Joseph's lead to four.  Moments later, Rebholz hit another three from nearly the same location, giving the Pumas a six-point lead of 70-64 with 3:50 to go.

Eruteya led the Miners with 18 points, while Nusrath Khan (Morton Grove, Ill./Maine East) had 11 and Johnson added 10.  The Miners shot 45.6 percent from the floor on the evening, but were guilty of 19 turnovers.

Dayvon Sloan led all scorers with 24 points for the Pumas, who picked up their first conference win and improved to 4-6 on the year.

Missouri S&T will wrap up its weekend road trip Saturday when it faces seventh-ranked Indianapolis in a 2:15 p.m. (Central time) contest.