ROLLA, Mo. – Missouri S&T will play on its home court for the final time in the 2014-15 season this weekend when it hosts a pair of Great Lakes Valley Conference doubleheaders against the league's Kansas City-area institutions at Billy Key Court.
The Miners will host Rockhurst University in a 7:30 p.m. contest Thursday, then wraps up its home schedule Saturday when they take on William Jewell at 3 p.m. Saturday's game will be Senior Day for the Miners and will also be Fort Leonard Wood Appreciation Day as all military members – active or retired – and their immediate families will be admitted free to the contest.
S&T, 9-14 on the year and 2-13 in GLVC play, comes into Thursday's game looking to snap a three-game losing streak after a loss to Illinois Springfield in its most recent home game and a pair of road setbacks a week ago. The Miners shot a season-low 33.9 percent in their 77-64 loss Saturday at Lewis, despite having three players in double figures in the scoring column.
Desmond Buerge (Carthage, Mo./Carthage) continues to lead the Miners in scoring with an average of 13.9 points per game, while
Zach Ellis (St. Louis, Mo./Whitfield School) is averaging 11.3 points a contest and
Clement Bonardo (LaFarlede, France/Costebelle), who led S&T with 14 points at Lewis, is scoring 10 points a contest. Buerge led all scorers with 23 points when the Miners played at Rockhurst earlier this season.
Michael Nesbitt (Evansville, Ind./LaLumiere School) is among the GLVC leaders in both three-point percentage at 46.3 percent and free throw percentage at 83.3 percent, while
Danylo Zuikov (Kiev, Ukraine/LaLumiere School) is second in the league and 18
th in NCAA Division II in assist-to-turnover ratio at 2.86-to-1.
Rockhurst, who beat the Miners 94-89 when the teams met last month in Kansas City, is looking to end a four-game losing streak of its own as it continues a five-game road trip to close the regular season. The Hawks bring records of 6-17 overall and 2-13 in the GLVC into Thursday's game.
Dominique Washington leads the Hawks in scoring with an average of 11.5 points per game, while Russell Burns is averaging 10.8 per game. Burns had 24 points in Rockhurst's loss Saturday at Illinois Springfield and had 20 points in the earlier meeting with S&T.
Bill O'Connor, the long-time head coach of the Hawks, will be on the sidelines for the last time against S&T Thursday as he has announced his retirement effective at the end of the 2014-15 season.
William Jewell, meanwhile, is seeking to lock up a spot in the conference tournament as it sits at 6-9 in league play and 10-13 overall.
Jordan Lewis, who had a 23-point outing against the Miners in the first meeting between the teams in January – won by the Cardinals 81-71 -- leads William Jewell with an average of 14.4 points per contest. Lewis is shooting 45.5 percent from three-point range and has a team-high 50 treys on the season -- he does not rank among the league leaders as he has played in fewer than 75 percent of WJC's games this year.
A total of four Cardinals are scoring in double figures, with D'Vante Mosby averaging 12.6 points a contest, Christian Hildebrandt 11.5 a game and Darius Tomlin 10.6 per contest. Mosby ranks third in the GLVC in rebounding with his 8.8 boards a game.
Thursday's links:
Game Notes – Miners vs. RockhurstLive VideoLive AudioLive StatsSaturday's links:
Game Notes – Miners vs. William JewellLive VideoLive AudioLive Stats
