ST. LOUIS, Mo. – A blazing start to the game allowed Missouri S&T's men's basketball team to build a big lead in the first half, propelling the Miners to an 82-65 Great Lakes Valley Conference win Saturday afternoon over Maryville at Moloney Arena.
The Miners (12-9, 6-8 GLVC) never trailed in the contest as they made their first six shots and 16 of their first 21 attempts from the field to build as much as a 21-point lead in the first half.
Cameron Stovall (St. Louis, MO/Vashon), who was playing in front of his former teammates from nearby Vashon High School, energized the pro-Miner crowd by scoring on the first two possessions and his put-back after the first S&T miss gave the Miners a 16-6 lead just over four minutes into play.
S&T continued its hot shooting over the first 12 minutes and went up 39-18 following a jumper by
Micah Johnson (Ankeny, IA/Centennial). After Maryville (10-10, 6-8 GLVC) cut the margin down to 15, the Miners closed the half on a 7-2 burst that was capped by a three-pointer by
Alex Benassi (Lee's Summit, MO/Lee's Summit) right before the first half buzzer sounded.
The Miners shot 60.6 percent in the first half to build their 20-point lead and kept it in double figures throughout the second half, even though they made just 37.9 percent of their attempts after the intermission. S&T built its advantage to as much as 28 after
Julien Smith (Fort Worth, TX/Northwest) made one-of-two at the free throw line midway through the second half, before the Saints trimmed the margin down to 13 with 3:13 remaining.
However, a baseline jumper by
Lovell Williams (Rogers, MN/Maple Grove) followed by a three-pointer by
Andrew Young (Ballwin, MO/Marquette) with just over two minutes to go stunted any Maryville hopes of a late comeback.
Even with their shooting struggles in the second half, the Miners still finished the afternoon at 50 percent from the field and had four players in double figures.
Kaden Froebe (Lincoln, IL/Lincoln) led the way with a double-double on a season-high 17 points and 11 rebounds – while also adding four assists and two steals, while Stovall and Williams had 15 apiece.
Ikenna Okeke (Bolingbrook, IL/Romeoville) was the fourth Miner to reach double figures with 10 points.
Luke Williams had 15 points and Trey Redd 13 to lead Maryville, who made 45.2 percent of its shots overall but just two-of-17 from beyond the arc.
The Miners will continue their road swing Thursday when they face Upper Iowa in a 7:30 p.m. contest in Fayette, Iowa.
