SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – Missouri  S&T's hopes of gaining a berth to the Great Lakes Valley Conference Tournament evaporated under a torrent of baskets in the first eight-plus minutes of the contest Thursday night, as the Miners' season ended with a 95-76 loss to Drury.

The Miners opened the game by scoring  on their first four possessions, taking a 10-6 lead on Danylo Zuikov (Kiev, Ukraine/LaLumiere School)'s three-point basket.  However, the Panthers – who saw their 21-game winning streak over S&T end when the Miners beat them 74-56 in Rolla two months ago  -- responded with a 12-0 run to take an eight-point lead before five minutes had been played.

Drury's lead continued to grow throughout the first half as it made 14 of its first 18 shots as part of a 23-3 surge, reaching 16 by the 13:32 mark and putting the Miners into a hole they couldn't escape from.  The Panthers' lead ended up at 19 by halftime following a three-pointer by Kameron Bundy just prior to the first half buzzer.

The Panthers shot nearly 57 percent in the opening half to 40 percent for the Miners, then continued their hot shooting into the second half by making 13 of their first 15 attempts from the floor to take a lead that reached as much as 27 points.

Drury (19-7, 14-4 GLVC) finished the game at 61.9 percent and was led by Tevin Foster with 20 points and Kameron Bundy with 19.  The Panthers, who had five players in double figures, clinched the outright GLVC West Division title in the process.

The Miners shot  38.5 percent  on the night and were led by B.J. McLaughlin (Florissant, Mo./Hazelwood Central) with 25 points and Rokas Paulauskas (Talsiai, Lithuania/Hamilton Heights Acad.) with 14.  Paulauskas recorded hit third double-double of the season as he also pulled down 11 rebounds.

Heading into the game, S&T was in a position to land a spot in the conference tournament, but needed a win to have any chance to make the field.  The loss ended the Miners' season with a final record of 8-19 and a 4-14 mark in the GLVC.