ROMEOVILLE, Ill. – Missouri S&T shot 50 percent from the field in a game for just the second time this season, but poor shooting from the free throw line and a season-high in turnovers led to the Miners coming up short Thursday night as S&T dropped a 74-64 decision to Lewis at Neil Carey Arena.

The Miners (4-15) made 26 of their 52 field goal attempts in the contest – shooting 50 percent in both halves – but could not overcome 21 turnovers and hitting just seven-of-16 from the free throw line as they fell for the fifth consecutive time.

The first half of the Great Lakes Valley Conference contest was a back-and-forth affair for the most part, with neither team holding more than a four-point lead for the better part of the period.  The half included seven ties and five lead changes as S&T had its largest lead of four at 17-13 following two free throws by Chima Oduocha (Hoffman Estates, IL/Conant) with 11:45 to play in the half.

S&T took a 21-19 lead when Kaden Froebe (Lincoln, IL/Lincoln) completed a fast break following a turnover with a lay-in, but Lewis' Dre Bell drained a three-pointer 15 seconds later to spark a 9-0 run that gave the Flyers (10-9) the lead for good.  The Miners drew to within three on an Oduocha basket before Billy Durkin hit three-pointers on consecutive trips down the floor to allow Lewis to take a nine-point lead by halftime.

The Flyer lead grew to 11 early in the second half before the Miners ran off seven straight points and got the margin down to four following a three-point basket by Julien Smith (Fort Worth, TX/Northwest) at the 12:52 mark.  However, Lewis extended its lead back to nine before the Miners made another 6-0 run to get to within three with 7:33 remaining.

S&T had a chance to get even closer moments later, but a turnovers on two of the next three possessions with a missed shot in between prevented it from getting any closer.  The Miners trailed by five with 3:44 left after a three-point play by Mitch Fairless (St. Charles, MO/Duchesne), but a 7-0 burst by the Flyers put the lead back into double figures again to essentially put the game away.

Froebe led the Miners with 15 points and also made four steals in the contest, while Odoucha scored a season-high 12 points.  Mahamadou Kaba-Camera (Conakry, Guinea/Balboa City (San Diego, CA)) added nine points and also had 11 rebounds for S&T.

Artese Stapleton led all scorers with 17 points, while Connor Niego had 16 with 11 boards as the Flyers shot 44.4 percent in the game.  S&T outscored Lewis 42-32 in the paint, but the Flyers outscored the Miners 26-13 in points off turnovers.

The Miners will close their 2020-21 schedule Saturday when they take on Illinois Springfield in Springfield, Ill., in a 3:30 p.m. contest.