ROLLA, Mo. – Following a short break that came on the heels of a come-from-behind win at Trevecca Nazarene, Missouri S&T's men's basketball team will return to the floor Monday as it hosts Ozark Christian in a 7 p.m. contest at Billy Key Court.
The Miners trailed by as many as 12 points in the first half of Tuesday's game at TNU, but outscored the Trojans 57-40 after the intermission to come away with the 88-78 win. S&T, who improved to 3-1 on the season with the victory, won the game in large part due to the play of its defense, which forced 19 turnovers in the second half and 30 in the contest, leading to 32 Miner points as a result.
Missouri S&T had four players in double figures in the win, led by
Desmond Buerge (Carthage, Mo./Carthage) and
Marcus Walden (Augusta, Ga./Academy of Richmond Co.) with 16 points apiece. Buerge leads the Miners in scoring with an average of 15.3 points per game, while Walden is among three others in double figures on the year with his average of 11.5 a contest.
Zach Ellis (St. Louis, Mo./Whitfield School) is averaging 14.5 points a game and
Michael Nesbitt (Evansville, Ind./LaLumiere School), who ranks fourth in the Great Lakes Valley Conference in three-point shooting percentage at 64.3 percent, is scoring 11.8 points per contest. The Miners are tied with Indianapolis for the league lead in scoring at 89.2 points per game.
Walden is also the Miners' top rebounder on the season with an average of six per game, while freshman
Juwan Miller (Kitchener, Ont./Huron Heights) has team highs in assists with 15 and steals with 10. Missouri S&T leads the GLVC with 13 steals per game and have forced more turnovers by its opponents – 102 – than any team in the conference.
Ozark Christian, who will play Monday's game as an exhibition contest, has a 2-5 record on the season and has dropped its last three games. The contest with Missouri S&T will mark the first game for the Ambassadors since they lost 89-68 to Lincoln Christian on Nov. 22.
OCC has three players averaging in double figures, led by freshman Evan Stubblefield with an average of 15.2 points per game; he had 27 points and 11 rebounds in the loss to Lincoln Christian. Stubblefield is also shooting 54.1 percent from the floor this season, but the Ambassadors are connecting on just 38.4 percent of their shots as a team.
Zac Hill is averaging 12.8 points and a team-high 6.8 rebounds per game, while Dawson Allmoslecher is scoring 10.8 points a game and leads OCC with 15 assists.
The Ambassadors have victories over St. Louis Christian and Central Christian this season, but have allowed at least 89 points in each of their five losses and have been outscored by an average of over 15 points per game this season.
Monday's contest will be the first of three games in the upcoming week for the Miners, who will play at Southeastern Oklahoma State on Wednesday before hosting Drury in its GLVC opener on Dec. 6.
Game Notes – Miners vs. Ozark ChristianLive VideoLive AudioLive Stats
