ROLLA, Mo. – With seven players in double figures in the scoring column, Missouri S&T opened its 2016-17 season Tuesday by routing Principia
104-65 at Billy Key Court in the first of back-to-back home contests to begin the year.
S&T used a strong final nine minutes of the first half to break free of the Panthers, as the Miners outscored Principia 28-9 in that stretch after the Panthers had tied the score on a lay-in by Brennan Paulson with 9:31 to play in the half.
Beginning with a layup by
Juwan Miller (Kitchener, Ont./Huron Heights) at the 8:37 mark, S&T made 10 of its final 14 shots of the opening half, including its last six to break the game open before the intermission. Leading 33-24, the Miners rattled off 15 of the last 20 points of the half with the last six made field goals to lead 48-29 at the half.
The Miners would extend that string of made field goals to 10 at the start of the second half, as after a basket by
Dulan Scott (Chicago, IL/Farragut Academy) less than two minutes into the half, S&T would lead by 25 and never looked back.
Telloy Simon (Kitchener, Ont./St. Mary's) matched his career high with a game-high 20 points to pace the seven Miners in double figures. Scott and
Jalen Myers (Shorewood, IL/Minooka), who were making their home debuts Tuesday, had 16 and 13 points, respectively, while
Ervin Sarajlic (St. Louis, Mo./Oakville) also finished with 13.
Miller had 12 points,
Randy Holmes (St. Louis, MO/Soldan International Studies) had 11 and
Rokas Paulauskas (Talsiai, Lithuania/Hamilton Heights Acad.) had 10 to round out the seven Miners with at least 10 points; Paulauskas also pulled down a dozen rebounds to record the fourth double-double of his career.
The Miners shot 54.3 percent for the game and also connected on 11-of-26 from three-point range, while outrebounding the Panthers by a 41-24 margin.
Micah Paulson led the Panthers, who shot 46.3 percent but were guilty of 21 turnovers, with 17 points.
The second half of the Miners' back-to-back games to begin the season will take place Wednesday when S&T hosts Lincoln – already off to a 2-0 start on the campaign – at 7:30 p.m.
