ROLLA, Mo. – Missouri S&T's men's basketball team left little doubt in the outcome of Tuesday's home opener against Westminster, running away from the Blue Jays during the first half to improve to 3-0 on the season with a 107-65 victory at Gibson Arena.
After Westminster stayed close in the early minutes of the contest, the Miners blitzed the visitors over the final seven minutes of the first half to build a 33-point lead by halftime as they shot 56.8 percent from the field and connected 13 times from three-point range.
Westminster trailed by just three five minutes into the game, but S&T went on an 11-0 run as Ikenna Okeke scored five points and
Kaden Froebe (Lincoln, IL/Lincoln) had four during that stretch, including fast break dunks by both to close out the run. The advantage never fell under 10 for the remainder of the opening half and the Miners had another big spurt before the half closed, outscoring the Blue Jays 15-2 to take a 23-point lead by the 5:49 mark.
After the Blue Jays had the margin down to three, S&T outscored Westminster 44-14 over the remainder of the first half as it shot nearly 58 percent from the field over the first 20 minutes.
The Miners continued their hot shooting into the second half, as they shot 55.6 percent during the second half and built their advantage to as much as 45 points.
Missouri S&T had four players in double figures, led by
Julien Smith (Fort Worth, TX/Northwest) with 24 points and Andrew Young with 21. Young went 10-of-12 from the field and also pulled down a game-high nine rebounds as the Miners outrebounded the Blue Jays 49-29, forced 15 turnovers and blocked six shots.
Okeke added 14 points and Froebe finished with 11 in the contest.
Westminster, playing Tuesday's game as an exhibition contest, had just one player in double figures as Coby Williams finished with 10 points. The Blue Jays made just 39.6 percent of their shots on the night.
The Miners will be idle until Nov. 23 when they host University of Health Sciences & Pharmacy in their final non-conference clash before the start of the Great Lakes Valley Conference season on the Saturday after Thanksgiving.
