ROLLA, Mo. – Missouri S&T's defense sparked a 16-0 run in the second half Thursday night, propelling the Miners to a critical Great Lakes Valley Conference victory as they defeated Drury 90-72 at Gibson Arena.
Trailing 47-46 with four minutes gone in the second half, the Miners' decisive run started when
Cameron Stovall (St. Louis, MO/Vashon) made one of two at the free throw line to tie the game. S&T (13-11, 7-10 GLVC) then took the lead just over a minute later on a three-pointer by
Julien Smith (Fort Worth, TX/Northwest), which was followed by a fast break lay-up by
Alex Benassi (Lee's Summit, MO/Lee's Summit) to extend the lead to five.
Ikenna Okeke (Bolingbrook, IL/Romeoville) – who scored a season-high 27 points for S&T in the win – connected on a jumper to make it a seven-point game, then Benassi drilled a three-pointer after the Miners got an offensive rebound on their next trip down the floor to put the lead in double figures. Okeke added a conventional three-point play and
Andrew Young (Ballwin, MO/Marquette) scored on a dunk to complete the 16-point run that was halted by a Riek Riek three-pointer at the 9:11 mark.
During the 16-0 run – which matched its longest scoring run in a game this season – S&T forced Drury into nine missed shots and five turnovers.
Prior to that point, the teams played on relatively even terms for the first 24 minutes. The first half featured seven ties and seven lead changes, with the Panthers (13-12, 6-11 GLVC) holding as much as a six-point advantage and the Miners leading by no more than three, which came late in the first half as part of a 7-0 run. S&T went up 36-33 after a basket by Okeke, only to see Drury cut the lead to one at the half.
After Drury went in front nearly a minute into the second half on a basket by Riley Naeger, the Miners got a three-point play from Smith and a fast break lay-in by
Kaden Froebe (Lincoln, IL/Lincoln) to take their biggest lead at 41-37. However, the Panthers hung right with the Miners, first evening the score twice and then taking their 47-46 lead on a trey by Elijah Whitley.
The Miners came up just short of a fourth consecutive game of shooting 50 percent or better, finishing at 49.3 percent for the game after hitting 52.6 percent of their second half shots.
Besides the 27 points posted by Okeke, S&T also got 16 from Smith and 15 from Young. Okeke also had 10 rebounds – S&T had a 41-35 advantage on the boards – for his fourth double-double of the season and went over the 1,500-point mark in his post-high school career during the game, as he has now scored 1,509 points in college basketball.
Drury, who finished at 43.9 percent from the field, was led by Naeger with 14 points.
Missouri S&T's final home game will take place Saturday when S&T hosts Southwest Baptist at 3 p.m. Saturday's game will be Senior Day and Military Appreciation Day at Gibson Arena, with the ceremony for the seniors set to take place after the conclusion of the women's game at begins at 1 p.m.
