ROLLA, Mo. – Despite a huge second half rally and a career day from freshman
Dylan Singleton (Lincoln, IL/Lincoln), Maryville got a late basket from Kelvin Swims and held off Missouri S&T's last-second shot to come away with a 73-72 win Saturday afternoon in Great Lakes Valley Conference play.
After the Miners (9-11, 5-8 GLVC) had outscored Maryville (10-10, 4-8) 30-12 over a span of 11:37 to overcome a 17-point deficit to take the lead with 1:45 to play, Swims scored on a runner in the lane with 13 seconds to play to give the lead back to the Saints. S&T had a final opportunity to win the game, but
Julien Smith's (Fort Worth, TX/Northwest) off-balance shot out of the corner was off the mark as the buzzer sounded.
The Miners and Saints played on even terms throughout the first half, with neither leading by more than six at any point. Maryville led for the majority of the half and led by as much as six on a couple of occasions – S&T's largest advantage was three early in the game – but the Miners closed the gap to three at 40-37 by halftime on a three-pointer by Singleton just before the half ended.
Both teams shot 50 percent from the field in the opening half with the Saints making two more field goals than S&T, who connected two more times from three-point range.
But when the second half began, the Saints came out of the gate quickly by scoring the first nine points to extend their lead to 12 by the 16:23 mark. Most of the early damage was done by Cameron Scales, who scored seven of the nine points that included two free throws that pushed the advantage to a dozen points.
Ryan Parker (Bloomington, IN/Bloomington South) made one of two at the free throw line 11 seconds later to get the Miners on the board for the first time in the half, but Maryville continued to extend its lead and built it to 17 at 59-42 following a conventional three-point play by Swims with 13:22 remaining.
The Saints were able to maintain their double figure advantage and had a 71-57 lead with 6:59 to play, before S&T used its defense to spark a 15-0 run that put it in the lead.
The run started with a lay-up by
Kaden Froebe (Lincoln, IL/Lincoln), followed by Smith hitting a turnaround jumper and then going three-of-three at the free throw line moments later to cut the lead to seven. After the Miners forced a turnover, Singleton scored on a put-back on the Miners' next possession to make it a five-point game with 4:21 remaining.
About 90 seconds later,
Mahamadou Kaba-Camera (Conakry, Guinea/Balboa City (San Diego, CA)) made two free throws to trim the lead to three, then Smith made a steal in the lane and the Miners converted that into points on a put-back by
Micah Johnson (Ankeny, IA/Centennial) to make it a one-point contest.
Michael Appiah Brefo (Jefferson City, MO/Jefferson City) followed that by blocking a shot in the lane that Froebe got the rebound on, then Smith got fouled on a drive to the basket and made both free throws to give the Miners their first lead since the 7:52 mark of the first half.
S&T got a defensive stop on the Saints' next trip down the floor and Singleton was fouled on the rebound, but he missed the front end of a one-and-one with 34 seconds to play. Following a timeout with 21 seconds to go, Swims got the ball on the wing and drove into the lane to hit the shot to put Maryville back in front.
The Miners called a timeout following the Swims basket to set up the final play, but Smith missed the contested three at the buzzer.
Singleton reached his career scoring high in the first half as he scored 14 of his game-high 21 points in the opening 20 minutes and made five of S&T's eight three-point shots in the contest. Smith, the GLVC scoring leader at the start of the day, finished with 14 points and Froebe also scored in double figures with 12. S&T shot 46.3 percent in the game and outrebounded the Saints 36-32, but was also guilty of 16 turnovers.
Maryville had four players in double figures, led by Scales' 18 points and 13 from Dylan Ingram.
The Miners will play their next two games at home, beginning with Thursday's 7:30 p.m. contest against McKendree at Gibson Arena.
