Box Score ROLLA, MO  --  Missouri S&T improved to 6-0 against Great Lakes Valley Conference opponents tonight with an 88-78 victory over the Maryville Saints. The team shot 58.2% from the field tonight, their best shooting percentage of the season against a conference opponent.

The Miners were cold early in the game, missing three shots in the opening minutes as the Saints took a 7-2 lead. Ryan Sroka (Lake in the Hills, IL/Huntley) and Andrew Young (Ballwin, MO/Marquette) would combine for 6 points, 2 rebounds, and a block in the following minutes, helping S&T cut the deficit to one. The Saints went on a 7-0 run coming out of the second media timeout though, taking their largest lead of the game at 25-17 with 9:30 left in the first.

Over the next four and a half minutes the Miners would draw within two of the Saints twice before the visitors built up their lead again. It was not until 3:44 that a 7-0 run by the Miners put them back on top again. A three by Maryville's Dewayne Vass at 1:26 would give Maryville their last lead of the contest before the Miners closed the half out with back to back baskets to go into halftime up 46-43.

The Miners settled into a rhythm at the start of the second half, playing solid defense and only missing two shots in the first five minutes. S&T drew ahead by as many as nine early in the half, but Maryville's Vass and Anthony Holden would quickly cut that lead to three. That was the last time the Saints would have a one possession game though, as Blaise Beauchamp (Minnetonka, MN/Hopkins) and Zac Brown (Collinsville, OK/Collinsville) orchestrated a 10-0 run out of the second media timeout to go ahead 69-55.

S&T hit on 6 of their next 9 shots, extending their lead to 18 points with just under six minutes to play. The Miners were able to comfortably hold their lead in the final minutes, with the starters exiting the game up 16 with less than 90 seconds to play as the Miners clinched their fifth straight victory.

Notable Performances

• Young: Led the team with 23 points, shooting 9-of-14 from the field and grabbing seven rebounds.
• Alex Benassi (Lee's Summit, MO/Lee's Summit): Delivered a stellar performance, making several difficult shots and recording seven impressive assists.
• Other Highlights: Brown, Beauchamp, Cameron Stovall (St. Louis, MO/Vashon), and Lovell Williams (Rogers, MN/Maple Grove) all scored in double digits, with the latter three contributing five of S&T's six blocks

What's Next
The Miners welcome the #4 team in the conference on Saturday when Missouri-St. Louis comes to town.

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