ROLLA, Mo. – For the second time in three days, Missouri S&T's men's basketball game went down to the final possession and ended in heartbreaking fashion for the Miners, as Rockhurst pulled out an 83-81 Great Lakes Valley Conference win at Gibson Arena.

After shooting 55.2 percent in the first half to take a one-point lead into the locker room, the Miners were unable to slow Rockhurst's Curtis Lewis over the final 20 minutes of play as he scored 22 of his game-high 33 points after the intermission. 

In a first half that featured 13 lead changes and eight ties, the Miners (0-4) overcame a six-point lead held by the Hawks late in the half by making a 7-0 run to take the lead when Kaden Froebe (Lincoln, IL/Lincoln) made the second of two free throws at the 2:57 mark.  Rockhurst (3-1) took the lead back on two occasions before the half ended, but the Miners regained the lead on a short jumper by Chima Oduocha (Hoffman Estates, IL/Conant) with 1:31 remaining and added to it when Froebe made a steal and lay-in moments later.

S&T led 42-41 at the break, then scored the first five points of the second half as Julien Smith (Fort Worth, TX/Northwest) made two free throws and later drained a three-pointer to give S&T a six-point lead.  Rockhurst tied the score on back-to-back three-pointers by Lewis, but the Miners got the lead back on their next trip down the floor on a lay-in by Froebe and held onto that advantage until Chris Hamil scored in the paint to give the Hawks a 52-51 lead.

Froebe – who scored a career-high 20 points in the contest – put S&T back in front and sparked a 9-1 burst which culminated with a Kevin Legardy (Las Vegas, NV/Canyon Springs) three-pointer that gave the Miners their biggest lead of the contest at 60-53 with 12:48 remaining.

However, Rockhurst responded with seven straight points and knotted the score at 60 on another trey by Lewis, then the senior guard – who reached a career-best of his own with 33 points – gave his team the lead with his fourth three-pointer of the second half with 8:59 remaining.

Following a basket by Quinton Curry with 4:19 remaining that gave Rockhurst a 75-73 lead, Mitch Fairless (St. Charles, MO/Duchesne) drove hard to the basket, scored and drew a foul at the 3:24 mark to tie the game up; his subsequent free throw gave S&T a one-point lead.  Lewis knocked down a jumper with just over two minutes left to allow Rockhurst to regain the lead, but the Miners took it back on another basket by Fairless down low.

But on the Hawks' next trip down the floor, Hamil, who came into the game as the third-leading scorer in the GLVC with an average of 23 points per game, sank a three-pointer from the wing to give the Hawks the lead for good with 1:22 to play.  After an S&T turnover, Thomas Faber hit a three to make it a five-point game with less than a minute remaining.

Smith knocked down a three for the Miners with 48 seconds showing on the clock, then the Miners got a stop on the defensive end to give themselves a chance to tie or win the game.  Smith's long three-point attempt prior to the buzzer, however, was just off the mark.

Along with Froebe's 20 points, Smith finished the game with 19 as the Miners had four players in double figures in the scoring column.  Legardy recorded 16 points on the day and Fairless finished with 14.

S&T shot only 41.4 percent in the second half after that strong first half in the shooting department, yet closed the afternoon with a season-best 48.3 percent mark from the floor.  Rockhurst shot 48.4 percent and improved its mark over the final 20 minutes, making 53.3 percent in the second half and hitting seven-of-14 from three-point range.  The Hawks also outrebounded the Miners 38-30.

Missouri S&T is scheduled to return to action next Saturday when it hosts Southwest Baptist at 3 p.m.