ROLLA, Mo. – After starting the season at 0-3, Missouri S&T got back to the .500 mark for the season Saturday afternoon by coming away victorious in a ragged contest 21-3 over Lindenwood-Belleville at Allgood-Bailey Stadium.

The win, the third in succession for the Miners, came despite being outgained by 25 yards on the day by the Lynx and completing just eight passes.  Fortunately for S&T, one of those completions turned into a pivotal play in the contest.

Saturday's game started out as if the Miners were going to run the Lynx right out of Allgood-Bailey Stadium.  S&T's opening drive was an efficient 76-yard drive on seven plays that culminated with a 13-yard scoring run by Charles Bournes (Chicago, Ill./Morgan Park), giving the Miners the lead just 2:35 into play.

The Miners, who missed the extra point following the Bournes touchdown -- then had a chance to add to the lead later in the quarter, but Nolan Mannino (Waterloo, Ill./Waterloo)'s 32-yard attempt went wide to the right.

Following that missed chance, the Miner offense bogged down for the remainder of the half as it recorded just one first down.  The S&T defense, however, was up to the task as it held the Lynx off the scoreboard to allow the Miners to take a 6-0 lead to the locker room.

The Lynx had just 108 yards of total offense in the first half and did not have a drive that got inside the S&T 30-yard line in the first 30 minutes.  But with the ball to open the second half, the Lynx started with good field position and got as far as the S&T 17 before settling for a Keagan Latarewicz field goal from 37 yards away.

Lindenwood-Belleville got the ball back and threatened to take the lead after Austin Rickhoff completed a 28-yard pass to Andre Uptgrow to the S&T seven-yard line.  After a holding penalty moved the Lynx back 10 yards, Will Brown (Hazelwood, Mo./Hazelwood West) picked off a pass to thwart that scoring opportunity.

Three plays later while backed up on their own five-yard line, Lamar Wilkes (Maryland Heights, Mo./Pattonville) fired a pass downfield that Melvin Stovall (Los Angeles, Calif./Lancaster) hauled in away from cornerback Derrick Barnett and as Barnett fell to the turf, Stovall had clear sailing to the end zone for a 95-yard touchdown pass that put the Miners up 14-3 after Wilkes completed a two-point conversion pass to Nick Taylor (Wichita, Kan./Southeast HS).

The 95-yard scoring pass broke the S&T school record for the longest play from scrimmage and also tied the Great Lakes Valley Conference mark for the longest pass and play from scrimmage in league history.

S&T's defense took care of matters from there, holding the Lynx to just 60 yards of total offense in the fourth quarter and recording a pair of interceptions, one by Nick Kruse (Cuba, Mo./Cuba HS) and the other by Will Brown (Hazelwood, Mo./Hazelwood West) that was returned 33 yards for a game-clinching touchdown with 1:30 to play.

The Lynx held the edge in total yardage with 325 to S&T's 300, but the Miners held them to just 64 on the ground and had the three interceptions in the second half.  Linebackers Zach Melber (St. Louis, Mo./Oakville) and Dillon Bowman (St. Peters, Mo./Fort Zumwalt South) finished with 10 tackles apiece, while Dan Mauszycki (Gardner, Kan./Gardner-Edgerton HS) had two of S&T's six sacks on the afternoon.

Scott Hendricks (Kechi, Kan./Maize HS) reached the 100-yard mark for the second week in succession with 101 on 16 carries, while Bournes added 61 on seven carries.  Stovall, who came into Saturday's game tied for the GLVC lead in receptions, had just three but recorded a season-high 132 yards on them.

The Miners will host William Jewell – who rallied to stun Truman State 21-17 to improve to 3-0 in GLVC play -- next Saturday for Homecoming at Allgood-Bailey Stadium at 1 p.m.