LIBERTY, Mo. – Missouri S&T's men's basketball team saw its 2023-24 season come to an end Saturday at the hands of a hot shooting William Jewell team, as the Cardinals beat the Miners 95-71 in a Great Lakes Valley Conference matchup.
The Cardinals (18-10, 12-8 GLVC) shot 58.1 percent on the afternoon and was above the 60 percent mark for a good chunk of the game, while holding S&T to 35.7 percent mark from the floor as the Miners' season ended with final records of 15-12 overall and 9-11 in the GLVC.
Saturday's game started out well for the Miners, as they made an early 10-0 run to take a nine-point lead just over five minutes into play.
Lovell Williams (Rogers, MN/Maple Grove) and
Ikenna Okeke (Bolingbrook, IL/Romeoville) were responsible for all of the points in that run, which began and ended with layups by Williams around two three-point baskets by Okeke.
However, the Cardinals began cutting into the margin and eventually moved in front at 26-24 on a lay-in by Trey Shannon that was part of a 10-0 Jewell run that ended with a dunk by Kobe McKinley. S&T had a tough time from there slowing down Jordan Jermain and Isaac Patterson, as the duo combined for 26 points in the opening half and were five-of-five from three-point range.
William Jewell led by as much as 15 in the first half and held a 48-35 advantage at the intermission, then opened the second half by outscoring S&T 18-11 over the first eight minutes to extend its lead to 20. The Cardinals would lead by as many as 24 late in the contest.
The Miners were led in scoring by
Ikenna Okeke (Bolingbrook, IL/Romeoville) with 15 points and
Alex Benassi (Lee's Summit, MO/Lee's Summit) with 14. Saturday's game was the last for Okeke in a Miner uniform – he led S&T in scoring during the campaign – as well as for
Julien Smith (Fort Worth, TX/Northwest),
Kaden Froebe (Lincoln, IL/Lincoln) and
Micah Johnson (Ankeny, IA/Centennial). Froebe and Johnson both finished in double figures as well, as Froebe had 12 points and four steals while Johnson matched his season high with 11 points. Smith, one of the most prolific three-point shooters in program history, had seven points in the game.
