By: John Kean, Sports Information Director
ROLLA, Mo. – Missouri S&T's men's basketball team will embark on its longest stretch of games away from home this season and will also look to put an end to a three-game losing streak Thursday when it faces William Jewell in the first of two games in the Kansas City area this weekend.
The Miners and Cardinals will face off Thursday at 7:30 p.m. in Liberty, Mo., then S&T heads down the road to take on Rockhurst Saturday at 3 p.m.
S&T lost its three games in the current streak to a trio of squads sporting a combined record of 47-6, falling to 8-5 overall and 1-4 in the Great Lakes Valley Conference in the process.
Zach Ellis (St. Louis, Mo./Whitfield School) leads the Miners in scoring with an average of 14.3 points per game after leading S&T with 14 in Saturday's loss to Southern Indiana, while
Desmond Buerge (Carthage, Mo./Carthage) is also scoring in double figures at 13.3 a contest.
Buerge is also S&T's top rebounder with 5.8 a game, while
Michael Nesbitt (Evansville, Ind./LaLumiere School) is pulling down 5.2 boards a contest and also leads the Miners with a mark of 45.7 percent from three-point range. Ellis is shooting 46.5 percent from beyond the arc.
Juwan Miller (Kitchener, Ont./Huron Heights), who has missed the last two games due to an injury, leads S&T with 50 assists and a league-high 33 steals.
The Cardinals snapped a three-game losing streak Saturday when they downed Saint Joseph's 67-66 for their second win in GLVC play. William Jewell, 6-7 overall and 2-3 in the GLVC, had to hold off a late rally by Saint Joseph's in the contest, as the Pumas had a last-second shot attempt to win the game go off the mark.
D'Vante Mosby, who recorded a double-double in the win over the Pumas with 17 points and 17 rebounds, leads the Cardinals in both categories witih averages of 13.3 points and 7.8 rebounds per game. Mosby ranks sixth in the GLVC in rebounding as play begins this week.
The Cardinals have four players scoring in double figures overall, as Darius Tomlin is at 13.2 points a game, Christian Hildebrandt -- the only Cardinal to have started in every game this year -- is at 12.3 points a contest and Jordan Lewis is scoring 10.3 points per outing.
The Hawks enter Thursday's home game with Drury still in search of their first win in GLVC play, as they fell to 4-10 overall and 0-6 in the league following a 39-point loss Saturday to fifth-ranked Indianapolis.
Dominique Washington is the only Rockhurst player averaging in double figures with an average of 11 points per game, as he is shooting 47.1 percent from the floor and is also pulling down 4.5 rebounds per game. Russell Burns is the Hawks' top rebounder with 5.2 points a game while scoring 8.8 points a contest; he had 15 points Saturday the loss to UIndy.
Burns also leads the Hawks with 24 assists and is tied with Josh Roberts for the team lead in steals with 13.
Thursday's links
Game Notes – Miners vs. William JewellLive VideoLive AudioLive StatsSaturday's linksGame Notes – Miners vs. RockhurstLive VideoLive AudioLive Stats
