KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Missouri S&T's men's basketball team fell short in a tough battle Thursday night against Rockhurst, as the Hawks were able to come away with a 72-69 Great Lakes Valley Conference victory at Mason-Halpin Fieldhouse.

Following a first half that saw the Miners shoot 53.1 percent and hold a four-point advantage at the intermission, the contest became a defensive battle over the final 20 minutes where points became harder to come by.   The Miners put 43 points on the scoreboard in the first half, but could only get 26 after the break as they made just 29 percent of their second half shots.

The first half saw the Miners (2-8, 0-2 GLVC) jump out to an early eight-point lead, going up 10-2 following a three-point basket by CJ Hedgepeth (Evansville, IN/Harrison) at the 17:15 mark.  Rockhurst (7-5, 2-1 GLVC) responded moments later with a 12-2 spurt that not only gave it its first lead of the game, but also its largest of the contest at it turned out of 23-17 on a put-back by Auston Rushing with 10:22 to play in the half.

However, S&T outscored the Hawks 10-2 over the next 3:28 to take the lead back, then another spurt by the Miners gave them a six-point lead late in the half before they took a 43-39 lead to the locker room.

Even though they were struggling for points early in the half, S&T was able to maintain the lead for more than six minutes before Rockhurst went in front on a lay-in by Connor Evans at the 13:46 mark.   The Miners would come back and regained the lead twice, the last at 52-50 on a jumper by Romain Louiserre (La Ferte Alais, France/Fredrick Fays) with 10:35 to go.

Rockhurst scored six straight points to take the lead for good, although the Miners thought they had tied the score on a basket by Juwan Miller (Kitchener, Ont./Huron Heights) with 5:15 left.  Originally called a three-pointer, the play was reviewed and switched to a two-point basket that kept the Hawks in the lead.

The Miners continued to push Rockhurst late in the contest and got to within a point on a three-pointer by Dulan Scott (Chicago, IL/Farragut Academy) with 12 seconds to go.  Eddie Muench hit two free throws to extend to the Rockhurst lead to three, then the Hawks fouled Scott at midcourt with five seconds to go before he could get a three-point shot off.

Scott made the first free throw and missed the second on purpose, but Muench tracked down the rebound in the corner and hit one more free throw to close out the win.

The Miners had three players in double figures, led by Scott's season-high 22 points.  Louiserre and Hedgepeth finished with 14 apiece as S&T finished at 41.3 percent from the field.

Rockhurst was led by Muench with 18 points and Chris Hamil with 15, as the Miners held the Hawks' leading scorer, Quinton Curry, to four points on the night.

Missouri S&T returns to action Saturday as it faces William Jewell (7-8, 1-2 GLVC) in a 3 p.m. game in Liberty, Mo.  The Cardinals pulled out an 81-80 win Thursday over Drury as Byron Harp made three free throws to win the game with 1.9 seconds to play.