SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – For the second consecutive day, Missouri S&T picked up a victory on the hardwood as the Miners had five players in double figures to rout Northwood 78-43 at the Drury Midwest Region Classic at the O'Reilly Family Events Center.
The Miners' last 2-0 start came in the 2018-19 season, but those wins came at the expense of a pair of non-NCAA Division II schools. S&T last opened a season with consecutive wins over NCAA Division II competition in the 1991-92 campaign when it defeated Grand Valley State and Oakland.
Saturday's game saw the Miners shoot the ball well in the first half for the second day in a row, as they made 53.8 percent of their shots to take a 45-19 lead at the half. Not only did the Miners shoot over 50 percent in the half, they also held the Timberwolves (0-2) to 34.8 shooting and forced 13 turnovers over the first 20 minutes.
S&T took a double figure lead just over five minutes into the game on a jumper by Dylan Singleton, which was part of a surge that saw the Miners take control of matters. S&T led 10-7 at the 16:14 mark, but outscored Northwood 24-6 over the next 11:30 to build a 21-point advantage.
The Miners scored the final eight points of the first half, then continued to extend their lead throughout the final 20 minutes as they held a lead of as much as 35 in the second stanza.
Kaden Froebe (Lincoln, IL/Lincoln) led the contingent of Miners in double figures with 18 points, as he went eight-of-nine from the field and posted a double-double for the second straight day by pulling down 10 rebounds. Froebe also added four assists and four steals in the contest.
Ikenna Okeke and Michael Appiah Brefo finished with 14 points apiece, while Lovell Williams scored 12 and
Julien Smith (Fort Worth, TX/Northwest) finished with 10. S&T dominated the contest in the paint as they scored 56 points inside and had 21 second chance points on the day.
Will Young II led the Timberwolves with 13 points.
The Miners' 35-point margin of victory was their largest over a team from the NCAA Division II ranks since beating Southwest Baptist 86-51 in the final regular season game of the 1998-99 campaign.
Missouri S&T will open its home schedule on Tuesday when it hosts Westminster at 7:30 p.m. at Gibson Arena.
