ST. LOUIS, Mo. – Missouri S&T had four players score in double figures on Sunday afternoon, but the only player for Maryville to put at least 10 points on the scoreboard trumped that effort as the Saints used a career day from Owen Long to down the Miners 76-67 in a Great Lakes Valley Conference game at Moloney Arena.

Long scored a career-high 39 points – matching the third-highest single game mark in Maryville history – to overcome the Miners' more balanced scoring effort and hand S&T its second loss in as many contests.  He connected on 16 of his 22 shots from the field in 40 minutes on the floor to carry Maryville to a win in its season opener.

The game featured 14 lead changes with six of them coming in the second half and S&T appeared ready to create the 15^th lead change when Kevin Legardy (Las Vegas, NV/Canyon Springs) was fouled as he scored on a driving layup with 3:59 remaining to tie the game at 63.  After the media timeout that followed, he was unable to convert the ensuing free throw that would have moved the Miners into the lead.

After each team missed chances to move back in front, Long got open in the corner and drained a three-pointer at the 3:23 mark to put Maryville back into the lead.  S&T got to within a point just over a minute later on a lay-in by Mitch Fairless (St. Charles, MO/Duchesne), but Davis Walker scored on a driving layup of his own to extend the Saint lead back to three.

The Miners missed a pair of shots on their next trip down the floor – the first was a missed three that would have tied the game and the second shot was blocked in the lane – and JT Morgan scored at the other end with 1:10 on the clock to make it a five-point game.

S&T built an early five-point lead in the contest thanks to a 7-2 burst that ended with a three-pointer by Dawson Berry (Centralia, IL/Centralia) with 12:33 to play in the opening half.  However, the Saints answered with a 9-0 run to regain the lead only to see the Miners use a quick 6-0 a few moments later to take the lead back late in the half. 

Maryville would lead 34-32 at the intermission, then extended its lead to six early in the second half before the Miners went on a 9-0 run to retake the advantage.  Trailing 41-35, S&T got three-point baskets by Julien Smith (Fort Worth, TX/Northwest), Legardy and Kaden Froebe (Lincoln, IL/Lincoln) to wipe out the Saint lead and then the Miners grabbed the edge back on a basket by Froebe at the 13:14 mark to take a 46-45 lead.

Following a basket by Berry to move the S&T lead to three, the Miners had a chance to add onto it on their next trip down the floor but following a missed shot, Ari Jackson hit a three-pointer out of the corner to knot the score at 48 and start an 11-0 run for Maryville to give it an eight point lead with 9:20 to play.

S&T clawed back into the contest as it outscored the Saints 13-4 over the next four-plus minutes take the lead on a three-point play by Mitch Fairless (St. Charles, MO/Duchesne).  Jackson hit a three to put Maryville back into the lead, but Legardy drove to the basket and scored to tie the game at 63 with just under four minutes remaining.

The Miners shot just 38.2 percent from the field in the game, but did connect 10 times from beyond the arc.  Legardy led S&T with 18 points, while Smith finished with 14 and Fairless and Froebe had 12 points apiece.

Maryville shot 50 percent from the floor and outrebounded the Miners 41-34 in the contest.

Missouri S&T is scheduled to play its next three games at home, beginning on Thursday when it hosts McKendree at 7:30 p.m. at Gibson Arena.