ROLLA, Mo. – Things may not have started well for Missouri S&T's men's basketball team Thursday night, but they sure ended well as the Miners used a big second half to overcome Quincy 82-77 in a Great Lakes Valley Conference contest at Gibson Arena.

The Miners (6-19, 4-15 GLVC) trailed the entire first half and for nearly 50 percent of the second half before taking their first lead of the game, as they outscored the Hawks 45-32 over the final 20 minutes to pick up their first win over Quincy in nine seasons and keep the Hawks (13-14, 7-12 GLVC) winless in true road games this season.

Quincy, who shot 64.3 percent from the field in the first half, jumped out to a 14-3 lead to open the evening but was unable to knock the Miners out early.  S&T hung in the game and cut the lead down to four with just over five minutes to play in the half on a three-pointer by CJ Hedgepeth (Evansville, IN/Harrison), but the Hawks used a 10-0 right after that to take their largest lead of the half at 41-29.

The Miners were able to trim the margin down to eight by halftime, then after Quincy extended its lead into double figures twice in the early stages of the second half, S&T surged back into the contest with a 12-2 spurt and tied the game at 53 on a lay-in by Mitch Fairless (St. Charles, MO/Duchesne).

A little over 90 seconds later with S&T trailing by three, Hedgepeth hit a three-pointer to tie the game and on the Miners' next trip down the floor, Jordan Newt (San Francisco, CA/Malibu) drained a trey to give them their first lead of the night at 62-59.

Quincy answered with a 7-0 to retake the lead, but S&T's hot three-point shooting in the second half allowed it to come back a second time.  Dawson Berry (Centralia, IL/Centralia) hit a pair of three-pointers around a trey by Charles Callier to bring the Miners back to within a point with 6:17 remaining, then a lay-in by Fairless nearly two minutes later put S&T in front again.

Ryan Briscoe's driving lay-up on the Hawks' next trip down the floor gave Quincy a 72-71, but the Miners took the lead for good 21 seconds later when Fairless – who scored 15 of his career-high 21 points in the second half – drilled a three-pointer.   The Miners were then able to answer every Quincy push down the stretch, with Fairless getting a key lay-in with 54 seconds remaining to give the Miners a two-possession lead.

Quincy got two free throws from Aziz Fadika and then got the ball back down by three when Hedgepeth missed the front end of a one-and-one, but Callier missed a three-point attempt out of the corner and Tanner Stuckman, who got the rebound for the Hawks, made just one-of-two at the line with 27 seconds remaining. 

Chima Oduocha (Hoffman Estates, IL/Conant) extended the S&T lead to four by making a pair at the line, then the Miners were able to run down the rebound on a missed trey by Callier and went on to secure the victory.

The Miners shot just 40.6 percent from the field in the game, but hit 12-of-25 from three-point range and held the Hawks to 37.5 percent from the floor in the second half.  Hedgepeth added 18 points for the Miners, while Newt finished with 13 and Oduocha with a double-double as he recorded 11 points and 12 rebounds.  S&T had a 10-rebound advantage in the game and committed just eight turnovers.

Quincy also had four players in double figures, led by Stuckman and Callier with 17 points apiece.

The Miners will wrap up their 2019-20 season Saturday afternoon when they host Truman State at 3 p.m.  The four S&T seniors will be honored shortly after the conclusion of the women's game with Truman that begins at 1 p.m.