ROLLA, Mo. – Missouri S&T battled tooth and nail with Indianapolis through the first half Thursday, but the visiting Greyhounds extended the lead that turned out to be too much for the Miners to overcome in a 97-85 Great Lakes Valley Conference loss at Billy Key Court.

Even though the Miners' only lead in the game came after an alley-oop dunk by Sebastian Ferenc (Zgierz, Poland/) on their opening possession, S&T battled right with UIndy (16-7, 10-5 GLVC) after the Greyhounds scored 20 of the next 23 points in the contest.

Trailing 20-5, the Miners (2-21, 0-15 GLVC) used a 21-8 surge to draw to within two by the 7:09 mark after a lay-in by Ferenc.  After the Greyhounds got their lead back to seven, the Miners fought back and trimmed the margin to one when Joe Johnson (Waynesville, MO/Waynesville) drained a three-pointer with 4:19 to play in the half.

UIndy still held the lead for the balance of the half, then scored the seven points prior to halftime to take a 50-41 lead to the break – despite the Miners' 51.9 percent mark from the floor with seven three-pointers in the first 20 minutes.

However, the Greyhound run continued into the second half as they scored the first 12 points out of the break to take a 21-point lead before a Johnson three-pointer halted the run.  The Greyhounds maintained that sizeable lead until a monster dunk by Chris Harris (Antioch, IL/Lake Forest Academy) with under six minutes to go allowed S&T to draw closer.

The Miners eventually got the UIndy lead down to nine with two minutes to go on a three-pointer by Allante Pickens (Chicago, IL/Curie) and again at 94-85 with 1:44 to play on two free throws by Romain Louiserre (La Ferte Alais, France/Fredrick Fays), but that was close as S&T could get down the stretch.

Missouri S&T shot 49.2 percent for the game and had five players in double figures, led by Ferene and Louiserre with 16 points apiece.  Harris and Pickens had 15 each, while Johnson finished the night with 12.

Tate Hall had a double-double with 27 points and 12 rebounds to lead the Greyhounds, who entered the night ranked 10^th in the first NCAA Division II Midwest Regional rankings of the season.  Ajay Lawton added 24 points and added seven assists and four steals on the night.

The Miners will host Lewis in a 3 p.m. contest Saturday at Billy Key Court.