KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Missouri S&T's men's basketball team couldn't quite duplicate what S&T's women's team did earlier in the day, as its rally from a big second half deficit fell short in an 86-79 season-ending loss to Rockhurst Saturday afternoon.

The Miners trailed by 18 at halftime and by as much as 21 early in the second half, but began working their way back into the contest and had it down to four in the latter stages of the contest.

After Rockhurst had the 21-point lead, the Miners used a 15-5 spurt to get the lead down to 11 following  Joe Johnson (Waynesville, MO/Waynesville)'s basket at the 13:56 mark which trimmed the lead to 61-50. 

The Hawks go the lead back to 17 with 5:39 remaining, but S&T went on a 13-0 run to close to within four following a dunk by Sebastian Ferenc (Zgierz, Poland/) and a basket by Chris Harris (Antioch, IL/Lake Forest Academy) after a Rockhurst turnover.  Curtis Lewis scored on the Hawks' next trip down the floor to extend the lead back to six, then Lewis made two free throws after the Miners missed two to make it an eight-point game with 1:23 remaining.

S&T was within five after a put-back by Ervin Sarajlic (St. Louis, MO/Oakville) with 31 seconds to play, but needing to foul , Travis House got loose for a dunk that all but sealed the Miners' fate.

In the opening half, S&T and Rockhurst went back and forth, with three ties  in the first eight minutes of play incliuding one at 19 following one of the four three-pointers drained by Allante Pickens (Chicago, IL/Curie) in the first half.  The Hawks regained the lead, then following a basket by S&T's Harris that cut the lead to two, the Miners went cold from the field and allowed the Hawks to take control of the contest.

Over the final 10 minutes of the first half, Rockhurst outscored Missouri S&T 30-14, largely on the strength of the shooting of House as he knocked down five three-pointers in the opening half.

Ferenc led four Miners in double figures with 17 points, while Pickens finished the day with 16.  S&T also got 12 points from Romain Louiserre (La Ferte Alais, France/Fredrick Fays) and 11 from Ervin Sarajlic (St. Louis, MO/Oakville).

Rockhurst's Quinton Curry led all scorers with 24 points, while House ended up with 20.

The Miners' campaign came to a close at 3-23 overall and 1-17 in the Great Lakes Valley Conference.