ROLLA, Mo. – Missouri S&T's men's basketball team will return to action Friday afternoon as it plays host to Baptist Bible in its final non-conference game of the season at 3 p.m. at Gibson Arena.

The Miners will be playing for the first time since losing 96-88 to fourth-ranked West Liberty in Las Vegas on Dec. 18, which preceded the NCAA's mandated winter break around the Christmas holiday.  Friday's game will be the last for S&T in non-conference play before a 16-game run in Great Lakes Valley Conference play that will begin Jan. 5 against Maryville.

S&T brings a 7-4 record into Friday's game and at the break had three of the top six scorers in the GLVC.  Julien Smith (Fort Worth, TX/Northwest) leads the Miners with an average of 16.8 points per game which ranks second in the conference, while Lovell Williams (Rogers, MN/Maple Grove) is third in the GLVC with an average of 15.6 points per contest and Ikenna Okeke (Bolingbrook, IL/Romeoville) is eighth in the conference with his average of 15.4 per outing.  The Miners continue to lead the GLVC in scoring with their average of 84.5 points per game.

That trio also ranks high in the conference in selected categories.  Smith is ninth in the conference with 2.4 three-pointers per game and 10^th in steals with 1.5 per contest, while Williams is seventh in the conference in field goal percentage at 57.9 percent, fourth in steals with 1.9 per game and sixth in assists with 3.8 per game. Okeke is eighth in rebounding with 6.7 per game and in field goal percentage at 53.1 percent.

The Miners' fourth double figure scorer for the season is Kaden Froebe (Lincoln, IL/Lincoln), who is scoring 11.9 points per contest and also leads the GLVC with 2.2 steals per game while ranking second with his 63.2 percentage mark from the field.

ABOUT BAPTIST BIBLE: The Patriots come into the game -- which will be played as an exhibition contest for them -- with a record of 7-5 on the season.  Baptist Bible has not played since Dec. 10, when it lost a 58-55 decision at William Woods that snapped a three-game winning streak.  That streak began with an 11-point win over University of Health Sciences & Pharmacy, the only common opponent between Baptist Bible and Missouri S&T.

Trent McBride leads three Patriots in double figures with an average of 22 points per game and is shooting 57 percent from the field this season.  He is also leading the squad with an average of 8.8 rebounds per contest and has scored in double figures in all 10 of his appearances this season.

Nick Coble is scoring 14.4 points per game and has connected on 39.5 percent of his three-point attempts -- having made a team-high 30 -- while Tre Minton has made 19 three-pointers and is averaging 13.5 points a game.  The Patriots are averaging 88.5 points per game on the season, but are allowing 85.1 and have given up 9.4 three-point baskets per contest.