BOLIVAR, Mo. – Missouri S&T's defense stood tall in the second half to preserve a lead the Miner offense produced in the first 30 minutes of play, allowing the Miners to pick up their first Great Lakes Valley Conference win of the season with a 28-21 victory at Southwest Baptist.

The S&T defense recorded a GLVC-record 14 quarterback sacks in the contest -- which tied the NCAA Division II single game record -- including one on the final Bearcat play to hold onto the seven-point lead in the waning seconds.  The work by the defense helped preserve a win in the debut of freshman quarterback Lamar Wilkes (Maryland Heights, Mo./Pattonville), who accounted for all four S&T touchdowns in the opening half.

After both teams committed turnovers on their opening possession, the Miners were able to cash in the one they got – an interception by Dan Mauszycki (Gardner, Kan./Gardner-Edgerton HS) that allowed them to set up shop at the Bearcats' 27-yard line.   Wilkes closed out the drive by throwing a three-yard scoring pass to Melvin Stovall (Los Angeles, Calif./Lancaster).

Wilkes hit Stovall for 49 yards on the S&T's next possession to move the Miners to the SBU 10-yard line, but three plays after that completion, a pass into the end zone was deflected into the air and hauled in by Antion McBee, who returned it over 100 yards for a touchdown to tie the score.

S&T regained the lead right before the end of the first quarter, as Wilkes rolled out of the pocket and hit Stovall down the sideline for a 76-yard scoring pass.  Wilkes would then throw his third scoring pass of the first half on S&T's next trip down the field, closing out a seven-play, 76-yard drive with a 14-yard touchdown toss to Nick Taylor (Wichita, Kan./Southeast HS); Wilkes would then complete a two-point conversion pass to Spencer Elrod (Lancaster, Calif.) to make it 21-7.

The Miner defense forced another SBU turnover, as Zach Melber (St. Louis, Mo./Oakville) knocked the ball away from quarterback Willie Tindal and Jake Harlan (St. James, Mo./John F. Hodge) recovered it at the Bearcat 29.  S&T would finish that drive in the end zone as well as Wilkes scored on a run from the one-yard line to give the Miners a 28-7 lead they would take to the locker room.

However, the Bearcats – who had just 79 yards of total offense in the first half -- came out flying to start the second half, scoring on their first two possessions to cut into the Miner lead.  A sack by Mauszycki forced SBU into a fourth-and-nine at the Miners' 25-yard line, but Tindal fired a touchdown pass to Scottie Wilson to give the Bearcats their first offensive score of the night.

On the Bearcats' next possession, Tindal completed a 28-yard pass to Nathan Mourik on a third down play and a 23-yard throw to Ivan Lofton on another third down play to move into the red zone, then fired an 18-yard touchdown pass to Kendrick Payne to cut the S&T lead to a touchdown.

Wilkes completed 13-of-22 passes for 300 yards, with Stovall catching three passes for 128 yards and the two scores.  The Miners finished with 442 yards of total offense with a season-high 142 yards on the ground.  Charles Bournes (Chicago, Ill./Morgan Park) had 58 yards to pace the S&T rushing game.

Melber finished with 10 tackles and had three of the Miner sacks in the game, while Dillon Bowman (St. Peters, Mo./Fort Zumwalt South) had nine stops.  Eight different Miner defenders recorded at least one sack as the unit held the Bearcats (1-3, 1-3 GLVC) to a season-low 221 yards of offense, including minus one rushing in large part to the sacks.

The Miners tied the NCAA record for sacks that was held by three teams.  North Dakota originally set the record in a 2001 game against New Haven, then was matched in 2008 by Shaw and last season by Johnson C. Smith.

Tindal, who was averaging 333.3 yards per game through the air heading into the contest, was held to 222 on the evening.

Missouri S&T (1-3, 1-1 GLVC) will return to the road – for the fourth time in the first five weeks of the 2014 season – next Saturday when it faces undefeated Saint Joseph's in a noon contest in Rensselaer, Ind.