SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – In a game that resembled a wild west shootout, Southeastern Oklahoma State outlasted Missouri S&T Wednesday afternoon as the Savage Storm came away with a 104-102 win over the Miners at the Doubletree Holiday Classic at Drury University.

The Miners overcame a deficit that had reached 13 points at one stage late in the first half and took as much as a 10-point lead midway through the second half, but the Savage Storm (4-1) – who had posted a 29-point win over Drury Tuesday night – wiped out that deficit and ended up taking the lead for good on Kellen Manek's three-point basket with 5:43 remaining.

S&T (0-3) had the lead down to two in the final minute after a steal and layup by Kaden Froebe (Lincoln, IL/Lincoln) with 45 seconds to go, then Froebe blocked a shot at the other end – but S&T couldn't get to the loose ball and Ante Brzovic made a layup to make it a two-possession game with 16 seconds remaining.

Both teams came out of the gate with hot hands and the tone was set with each team's opening possession.  Ryan Parker (Bloomington, IN/Bloomington South) hit a three-pointer to get things started for the Miners, then Jett Sternberger hit one at the other end for the Savage Storm, the first of 17 three-pointers each team connected on during the contest.

The Miners took a 12-11 lead on a shot in the lane by Alex Strating (Wassenaar, Netherlands/American School of the Hague), but Manek hit a trey on Southeastern's next trip down the floor to give the Savage Storm the lead that it would hold onto for the remainder of the opening half.  That lead would reach 13 after an 8-0 burst that concluded with a layup by Adan Dworsky, but the Miners outscored Southeastern 13-4 to close the half down by just four at 55-51.

It was the first half in which the Miners had scored 50 points since it had 53 in the second half of their Jan. 5, 2019 contest at William Jewell.

The offense didn't slow down for the Miners when the second half began, as Ryan Parker (Bloomington, IN/Bloomington South) drained a three at the 18:27 mark to tie the score and after a Southeastern turnover, Dylan Singleton (Lincoln, IL/Lincoln) led Julien Smith (Fort Worth, TX/Northwest) on a fast break basket that gave the lead back to S&T at 59-57.

S&T held onto the advantage for the better part of the next 11 minutes – Southeastern took one brief lead on a Sternberger three-pointer – but after that basket, the Miners ran off 18 of the next 25 points and took their largest lead of the game when Froebe scored on a backdoor layup at the 10:51 mark.

However, the Savage Storm went on a 10-0 run with Dworsky scoring all 10 points, with his three-pointer with 8:41 remaining to bring his team even at 86.  The Miners regained the lead on a basket by Micah Johnson (Ankeny, IA/Centennial), but Brzovic scored after an offensive rebound to tie it again.

After Southeastern took a 90-88 lead on another second chance basket by Brzovic, the Miners got a lay-in by Singleton and two free throws from Strating to regain the lead with 5:56 to play, but Manek answered with a go-ahead three to put Southeastern up to stay.

Besides hitting the 17 three-pointers in 30 tries, the Miners also shot a season-best 55.2 percent from the field and had five players in double figures.  Smith led the way with a season-high 23 points and connected five times from beyond the arc, while Strating had 18 points and Froebe finished with 17.  Kevin Legardy (Las Vegas, NV/Canyon Springs) went four-of-five from outside as he finished with 15 points and also added six assists, while Parker ended up with 14.

Southeastern shot 55.4 percent for the game and also had five in double figures, paced by Dworsky's 25 points and 21 apiece from Sternberger and Brzovic.

Missouri S&T will return to action Saturday when it hosts Principia at Gibson Arena beginning at 3 p.m.