ROLLA, Mo. – Missouri S&T bent – but didn't break – Sunday afternoon and closed its first semester schedule on a winning note by outlasting William Woods 102-97 at Billy Key Court.

The Miners, who won for the fifth game in succession, led for much of the game as they moved above the .500 mark for the first time this season at 6-5.  It didn't come easy as they had to hold off a William Woods flurry in the second half, as the Owls were able to overcome a double-digit deficit to take a brief lead with just over eight minutes to play.

S&T opened the contest by holding the Owls scoreless for the first 7:04, building a 13-0 lead in that time behind seven early points from B.J. McLaughlin (Florissant, Mo./Hazelwood Central) and a pair of three-pointers by Desmond Buerge (Carthage, Mo./Carthage).  The Miners maintained a double figure lead past the midway point of the half before Austin Lowery's lay-in cut the margin to eight at the 9:13 mark.

But thanks to the shooting of Telloy Simon (Kitchener, Ont./St. Mary's), the Miners were able to keep the lead near the 10-point mark.  Simon hit four consecutive three-point shots ,the last with 4:59 to go in the half to give S&T a 35-23 lead.  Following a turnover on the Owls' next possession, Quinn Poythress (Jackson, Mo./Notre Dame Regional) drilled a three-pointer to put the Miners up by 15.

The Owls finished the first half on a surge, outscoring S&T 19-9 to get to within five before Rokas Paulauskas (Talsiai, Lithuania/Hamilton Heights Acad.) hit a free throw in the final seconds of the half to give S&T a 43-37 lead at the break.

S&T pushed the lead back to 12 early in the second half, but William Woods used a 10-3 burst to draw to within three following a lay-up by Lowery with 14:24 to play.  The Miners answered with seven straight – highlighted by three-pointers from Danylo Zuikov (Kiev, Ukraine/LaLumiere School) and Poythress – to go back up by 10.

After a three-point play by Allen Billinger (Carbondale, Ill./Carbondale) gave S&T a 69-60 lead with 11:17 left, the Owls scored 10 straight points to take their first lead of the game on a fast break lay-in by Lowery.  However, S&T took the lead right back when McLaughlin scored off an assist from Billinger and never trailed again.

The Owls got to within a point at 82-81 after Lowery hit a three-pointer with 4:02 to go, but a pair of free throws by Buerge, a three-pointer by Zach Ellis (St. Louis, Mo./Whitfield School) and a fast break basket by Paulauskas pushed the Miner lead back to six.  Paulauskas then answered a pair of Deon Pettigrew free throws with a basket off an assist from Buerge just before the shot clock expired with 1:28 remaining to keep the lead at six.

From there, the Miners clinched the game at the free throw line, going 11-of-12 in the final 1:06 to hold off the Owls down the stretch.

McLaughlin led five Miners in double figures with 21 points, while Simon finished with a career-high 17 and Paulauskas with 16.  S&T also got 13 points from Buerge and Miller, who also recorded seven assists on the afternoon.

The Miners hit a season-high 14 three-point baskets as they shot 46.4 percent from the field.

Pettigrew led all scorers in the game with 25 points for the Owls, while Trey Mitchell had 23 and Lowery added 17 of the bench.  The Owls, 9-4 on the season as they were playing Sunday's game as an exhibition contest, hit seven-of-11 from beyond the arc in the second half and shot 52.9 percent in the final 20 minutes.

The Miners return to practice on Dec. 28 following the NCAA Division II winter break and will resume their schedule with a New Year's Eve matinee against Principia at 2 p.m.