ROLLA, Mo. – Truman State used a late surge to break away from Missouri S&T in a close Great Lakes Valley Conference contest Thursday night, outscoring the Miners 23-7 over the final 8:28 to come away with an 82-69 victory at Billy Key Court.

The Miners led 62-59 following a basket by Zach Ellis (St. Louis, Mo./Whitfield School) with 8:42 remaining in the second half, but after a pair of Dwight Sistrunk free throws and a pair of empty possessions by the Miners, Kyle Kanaskie fired in a fall-away three-pointer out of the corner to put the Bulldogs up 64-62 with 7:36 remaining.

Juwan Miller (Kitchener, Ont./Huron Heights) hit a three-pointer on S&T's next trip down the floor to put the Miners back up by a point, but Kanaskie drilled another three 17 seconds later to spark a 9-0 Truman run that gave the Bulldogs the lead for good.

B.J. McLaughlin (Florissant, Mo./Hazelwood Central) hit a jumper to halt the run, but a lay-in by Sistrunk, followed by a three-pointer by Cory Myers with 1:25 on the clock that all but nailed down the win for the Bulldogs (15-5, 7-3 GLVC).

The Miners trailed for much of the first half, falling behind by as many as seven with just under six minutes to go in the period.  S&T drew to within one after a tip-in by Jay Corwin (Independence, Mo./Blue Springs), a jumper by Allen Billinger (Carbondale, Ill./Carbondale) and a free throw from McLaughlin, then after Truman went back up by five, the Miners outscored Truman 7-2 to finish the half.

Zach Ellis (St. Louis, Mo./Whitfield School) hit a three-pointer in the final seconds of the half to draw S&T even at 40 at the intermission.

S&T took its first lead of the contest on a lay-in by McLaughlin just over four minutes into the second half and eventually extended it to four by using a 5-0 spurt.  After the Bulldogs regained the lead following the McLaughlin basket on a jumper from Cole Myers, Desmond Buerge (Carthage, Mo./Carthage) hit a three out of the corner to put S&T back in front.

Ellis scored moments later to give the Miners a four-point advantage, but S&T missed some opportunities over the next minute to extend the margin before Kanaskie scored on a conventional three-point play.

Quinn Poythress (Jackson, Mo./Notre Dame Regional)' three-pointer at the 10:42 mark gave the Miners a four-point lead again, but Cole Myers answered with a three of his own before Ellis' basket with 8:42 remaining.

The Miners (8-11, 4-6 GLVC) shot 42.4 percent from the floor for the game, but turned the ball over a season-high 24 times.  S&T did force the Bulldogs into 22 turnovers, but Truman hit 53.2 percent of its shots and also outscored the Miners by 12 at the free throw line.

Miller and McLaughlin led the Miners with 12 points apiece – McLaughlin also had nine rebounds as S&T held a 36-25 advantage on the boards – while Ellis finished with 10.

Kanaskie, who did not miss a shot all night, led all scorers with 22 points as he was six-of-six from the field – including three three-pointers – and seven-of-seven from the free throw line.  Sistrunk added 18 points while Cole Myers and Connor Erickson had 13 apiece.

The win by the Bulldogs moved them into a three-way tie for the GLVC West Division lead with Drury and Quincy, the latter of whom will visit Missouri S&T Saturday in a 3 p.m. contest.  The Hawks lost 79-76 at Drury Thursday to create the three-way tie atop the division.