KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Missouri S&T was unable to slow down Rockhurst at key moments on the offensive end Saturday afternoon and dropped a 94-89 decision to the Hawks in Great Lakes Valley Conference play.

The Hawks – who came into the game shooting just 38.6 percent from the floor as a team – hit 53.3 percent of their shots Saturday and overcame an eight-point deficit in the second half to hand the Miners their fifth straight loss.

S&T led for much of the first half, holding a six-point advantage of 21-15 with 8:58 to go in the half after Ervin Sarajlic (St. Louis, Mo./Oakville) drained a three-pointer.  Rockhurst answered with a 15-6 run to move in front with 4:32 to go and held onto the lead for most of the remainder of the half, but thanks to three-pointers before the half ended by Desmond Buerge (Carthage, Mo./Carthage) and Danylo Zuikov (Kiev, Ukraine/LaLumiere School), the teams went to the locker room tied at 42.

Rockhurst held the lead at the outset of the  second half, but the Miners moved back in front on a three-point play by Michael Nesbitt (Evansville, Ind./LaLumiere School) at the 16:23 mark.  That play sparked a 9-0 run that gave S&T a seven-point lead over the next two-plus minutes and the Miners would eventually extend the margin to eight after a three-pointer by Clement Bonardo (LaFarlede, France/Costebelle) with 12:40 to go.

S&T led 68-61 following a basket by B.J. McLaughlin (Florissant, Mo./Hazelwood Central) with 8:32 left, but the Hawks went on a 13-2 spurt over the next three minutes, moving back into the lead when Josh Brannon hit a pair of free throws at the 6:04 mark.

The Rockhurst lead would grow to seven with just over two minutes left before the Miners tried to claw back into the contest.  A three-pointer by Buerge got S&T to within three at 85-82 with 1:41 left, but Russell Burns scored on a backdoor layup on the Hawks' next trip down the floor to get the lead back to five.

S&T got to within one possession twice in the final minute, the last after a Sarajlic three-pointer with 10 seconds to go, but Washington knocked down two free throws to seal the victory.

Buerge scored a career-high 23 points to lead the Miners (8-7, 1-6 GLVC), while Zuikov finished with 14.  S&T hit 10 three-pointers in the contest, but shot just 40.3 percent from the field.

John Burke had 22 points and Burns added 20 for the Hawks (5-10, 1-6 GLVC), who won for the first time in seven games.  Washington also had 17 points and 11 boards for Rockhurst.

The Miners will continue their four-game road swing Thursday when they play at Missouri-St. Louis in a 7:30 p.m. contest.