ROLLA, Mo. – A game effort by Missouri S&T's men's basketball team came up short Saturday afternoon, as William Jewell – fueled by a huge game from Darius Tomlin – outlasted the Miners 95-91 in S&T's home finale at Billy Key Court.

Tomlin scored 24 of his game-high 34 points in the final 25 minutes of the contest to help the Cardinals rally from a 12-point deficit in the second half.  He also had a critical assist in the overtime period after the Miners had drawn to within one with 1:47 to go, a kick-out to Christian Hildebrandt for a three-pointer that allowed Jewell to keep S&T at bay.

The game was a tight one for a majority of the afternoon, although the Miners did have the double figure lead in the second half.  There were nine ties and 12 lead changes in the opening half alone, one where the Miners did open up an eight-point advantage at one juncture after a steal and dunk by Clement Bonardo (LaFarlede, France/Costebelle) at the 5:07 mark. 

William Jewell wiped out that margin and took a one-point lead when Tomlin made one of two at the free throw line with eight seconds to go, but Desmond Buerge (Carthage, Mo./Carthage) was fouled right before the half ended and sunk a pair at the line to give S&T a 39-38 halftime lead.

The Miners held the Cardinals to 37.5 percent from the floor in the first half, but as was the case in Thursday's loss to Rockhurst, S&T could not slow down the opposition after the break as the Cardinals hit 64 percent of their shots over the next 20 minutes.

Nonetheless, the Miners made a surge early in the second half and took a 10-point lead on a lay-in by Marcus Walden (Augusta, Ga./Academy of Richmond Co.) at the 17:28 mark.  After the Cardinals had closed the gap to five over the next minute, S&T outscored Jewell 10-3 to take its largest lead at 60-48 on a three-pointer by Buerge with 12:53 to go.

William Jewell began to cut into the margin, as Tomlin scored eight of the Cardinals' next 11 points to bring them back to within three with 10:13 remaining.  Hildebrandt then knocked down a three-pointer with 8:09 left to put Jewell up for the first time in the second half at 64-63, turning the game into a see-saw affair for the balance of regulation time.

The Miners led 75-73 after Bonardo hit two free throws at the 3:26 mark, but back-to-back baskets by D'Vante Mosby and Payton Meek gave the Cardinals the lead back.  S&T tied the game three different times in the final 1:34, the last on a put-back by Curtis Okafor (Kansas City, Mo./Bishop Miege) with 12 seconds left, before a potential game-winning shot by Tomlin was off the mark before the buzzer sounded.

The Cardinals, however, never trailed in overtime after Meek hit a trey on their opening possession.  S&T got to within a point at 88-87 on Bonardo's lay-in with 1:47 left, but Hildebrandt answered with the three-pointer off an assist from Tomlin to push the lead out to four – the closest the Miners would get until scoring at the final buzzer.

B.J. McLaughlin (Florissant, Mo./Hazelwood Central) led five Miners in double figures with 17 points.   S&T also got 16 points from Bonardo, 13 from Zach Ellis (St. Louis, Mo./Whitfield School) and 12 from Okafor – the lone Miner senior playing in his final home game Saturday.

Hildebrandt added 14 points and Mosby 12 for the Cardinals (12-13, 8-9 Great Lakes Valley Conference), who made 19-of-30 from the field after the halftime intermission.

Missouri S&T (9-16, 2-15 GLVC) will close its 2014-15 schedule Thursday when it plays Drury in an 8 p.m. contest in Springfield, Mo.