BOLIVAR, Mo. – In a game of wild swings in the second half, Missouri S&T's late rally effort fell just short in the final seconds as 22
nd-ranked Southwest Baptist escaped with a 78-75 win over the Miners in the Great Lakes Valley Conference opener for both teams at the Meyer Sports Center.
S&T, who lost for the first time in five tries, led by as much as 11 in the early stages of the second half and fell behind by as many as 13 points with just under nine minutes remaining after the Bearcats (5-0, 1-0 GLVC) outscored the Miners 21-31-7 over a stretch of just over eight minutes. But down the stretch, S&T scored 10 straight points to get to within one and had the ball with a chance to win the game in the final seconds before a turnover ended that possession.
In a hard-fought battle from the outset, the Miners went back-and-forth with the Bearcats throughout much of the opening half before S&T moved in front at 20-19 on a free throw by
Julien Smith (Fort Worth, TX/Northwest) at the 8:33 mark. The Miners would maintain that advantage for the remainder of the first half even though SBU did close to within one on two occasions.
After the Bearcats cur the lead to one with 2:39 to play in the half, the Miners closed the period by outscoring SBU 9-2 and following Smith's jumper with 20 seconds to go, took a 40-32 lead to the break.
S&T extended its lead into double figures when
Dylan Singleton (Lincoln, IL/Lincoln) drained a three-pointer at the 17:06 mark to give the Miners a 47-36 lead and they still led by 10 at 49-39 after a put-back by
Micah Johnson (Ankeny, IA/Centennial) just over a minute later. But as S&T suddenly went cold from the field, the Bearcats warmed up and rattled off the next 13 points to retake the lead.
SBU took the lead on a Drew McMillin three-pointer with 12:46 to go and got a basket moments later from RJ Crawford to extend the advantage to three. S&T's
Andrew Young (Ballwin, MO/Marquette) hit a three-pointer from the top of the key to stop the run and even things up, but Noah Franklin scored inside to put the Bearcats back in front and then knocked down a three on SBU's next trip down the floor to make it a five-point game.
The Bearcats would eventually build their lead to 13 after a basket by Crawford with 8:47 remaining – which closed the 31-7 stretch – and would keep the lead in or near double figures until the Miners made their late run.
Trailing 76-65 with 3:18 to go,
Alex Benassi (Lee's Summit, MO/Lee's Summit) hit a trey and
Ikenna Okeke (Bolingbrook, IL/Romeoville) converted a conventional three-point play to trim the Bearcat lead to five. On S&T's next trip down the floor, Okeke missed a shot in the lane but
Kaden Froebe (Lincoln, IL/Lincoln) got the offensive board and got it back to Okeke for a lay-in to trim the margin to three. Then after an SBU turnover, Okeke was fouled and made a pair of free throws to make it 76-75 with 44 seconds remaining.
Crawford was fouled while going after a loose ball with 24 seconds left, but missed both free throws to give S&T a chance to win the game. However, the Miners turned the ball over while making a pass into the low block and Crawford made both free throws to extend the lead to three. The Miners committed a turnover when throwing the ball to the front court to end the game.
S&T, who entered the game as the top field goal shooting team in the GLVC, was held to a 38.7 mark on the afternoon and made only five-of-18 from three-point range. The Miners committed only seven turnovers in the contest and forced SBU into 18 as the Bearcats made just 42.9 percent of their shots.
Smith had 20 points to lead three Miners in double figures, with Froebe finishing with 16 points and Benassi with 10. Franklin led all scorers in the game with 23 for SBU, who also got 21 from Crawford.
Missouri S&T will return to the floor Monday when it takes on Drury in a 7:45 p.m. game in Springfield, Mo.
