ST. LOUIS, Mo. – Missouri S&T's men's basketball team was unable to completely overcome a slow start and a large deficit that resulted from it, as the Miners' furious rally late in the contest fell just short in a 78-75 Great Lakes Valley Conference loss Thursday night at Missouri-St. Louis.
The Miners (9-8, 3-7 GLVC) trailed by double figures for much of the night, as they were down by 11 before they scored for the first time, by 17 at the intermission and by as much as 19 early in the second. However, the Miners closed the gap in the final minutes and had a chance to tie the game, but
Ikenna Okeke's (Bolingbrook, IL/Romeoville) three-point attempt from beyond the top of the key rimmed out with 22 seconds left and the Tritons (8-10, 6-4 GLVC) were able to hold off S&T at the free throw line.
S&T missed its first 11 shots of the game, which allowed the Tritons to build an 11-point lead prior to a
Cameron Stovall (St. Louis, MO/Vashon) free throw that got the Miners on the board.
Kaden Froebe (Lincoln, IL/Lincoln) hit a three-pointer a few moments later for the first field goal of the night for S&T with 12:10 to play in the first half, but the Tritons got the lead back into double figures a short time later and kept it that way for the balance of a first half where they shot 53.3 percent from the field.
UMSL led 43-26 at the half, then extended the margin to 19 on its first possession of the second half before the Miners started to chip away at the lead.
S&T got the lead down to 12 on a steal and lay-in by Froebe, then down to eight at 47-39 by the 13:45 mark on an Okeke three-pointer. The lead was cut to eight again at 51-43 following a driving layup by Froebe that prompted an UMSL timeout, then the Tritons ran off seven straight points to restore its 15-point advantage.
The Tritons led 64-49 following a Kris O'Neal basket in the lane with 6:54 to play and still led by double figures following an O'Neal three-pointer with 2:50 to go. But S&T followed by outscoring UMSL 9-1 over the next two-plus minutes, getting a three-pointer from
Julien Smith (Fort Worth, TX/Northwest), a basket by
Lovell Williams (Rogers, MN/Maple Grove) and two more by Okeke to draw to within three with 33 seconds remaining.
An UMSL turnover followed the second Okeke basket and Froebe found Okeke open beyond the top of the key, but the attempt to tie the game went in and out and the Tritons were able to finish off the win at the free throw line.
Smith scored a season-high 23 points to lead the Miners, who shot 52.9 percent in the second half to finish the game at 45.5 percent. Smith was joined in double figures by Okeke – who had a double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds – Froebe with 14 points and Stovall with 11.
Mayson Quartlebaum matched his career high for the Tritons with 26 points and O'Neal added 16 off the bench.
The Miners will take on McKendree Saturday in a 3 p.m. game in Lebanon, Ill.
