Box Score ROLLA, Mo. – Missouri S&T used a superb defensive effort Monday night to break a six-game losing streak, holding Rockhurst to 32.6 percent shooting to post a 56-43 win in Great Lakes Valley Conference play at Billy Key Court.

The Miners, who completed a season sweep of the Hawks for the second consecutive year with Monday's win, held Rockhurst to the second-fewest points and second-lowest field goal percentage of any S&T opponent this season and lowest marks by an NCAA Division II opponent.  Only Baptist Bible, whom the Miners beat on Dec. 8, posted lower numbers than the ones the Hawks finished with Monday.

Both teams were slow out of the gate at the beginning of the contest, as the Hawks didn't get their first field goal until Michael Osepa's three-pointer at the 16:11 mark and the Miners didn't score at all until Zach Ellis hit three free throws immediately after the first media timeout.

However, a 9-0 run by S&T that started with Michael Nesbitt (Evansville, Ind./LaLumiere School)'s basket with 11:28 to play in the half put the Miners in front for good.   The run was capped by Mudi Eruteya's three-pointer – the only trey of the half for S&T – with 8:37 to play that put the Miners ahead 14-7.

The Miners would lead by as many 12 in the first half and eventually took an 11-point advantage to the locker room, despite shooting just 24 percent in the opening half.  The Hawks struggled just as much as they finished the half at 23.8 percent.

S&T was only one-of-12 from three-point range in the first half, but started going inside more after the intermission and built the lead to as much as 17 within the first three-plus minutes.  Nusrath Khan (Morton Grove, Ill./Maine East), who scored 10 of his 12 points in the second half, completed a fast break that started with an Eruteya steal to give the Miners their largest lead of the game.

The Hawks were able to cut the lead down to seven as the Miners went into through a seven-minute stretch where they scored only two points, with Cooper Beckett's free throws with 9:56 to play cutting the lead to 35-28.

But a steal and subsequent dunk moments later by Michael Jackson (Wichita, Kan./Wichita East) kick-started the Miners on the offensive end, as they followed by drilling three-pointers on three straight possessions – two by Eruteya and the third by Julian Johnson (St. Louis, Mo./Whitfield School) – to extend the lead back to 13 with less than six minutes to play.  The lead would remain in double figures for the balance of the night.

S&T shot 52.2 percent in the second half to finish at 37.5 percent and also went 16-of-18 at the free throw line.  Eruteya led all scorers with 15 points, while Khan added his 12 and Ellis finished with 11.  The Miners also tied a season-high with 12 steals, led by Eruteya's five and outrebounded the Hawks 35-27.

David Wingerson led the Hawks (4-20, 3-14 GLVC) with 10 points, as the Miners held Rockhurst's leading scorer, Brandon McCann, to just two points on a pair of second half free throws.

Missouri S&T, now 7-17 overall and 3-14 in the GLVC, will close its 2012-13 season with a home matchup Thursday against GLVC West Division champion Drury.  The Panthers, 21-4 overall and a GLVC-best 15-2, were ranked 11^th nationally last week and figure to move into the top ten when the new rankings are released Tuesday afternoon.