OWENSBORO, KY  --  Missouri S&T Men's Basketball opened their 2025–26 campaign on a high note, defeating the Kentucky Wesleyan Panthers 68–56 in Saturday's season opener.

Zac Brown (Collinsville, OK/Collinsville) scored the Miners' first four points of the game, knocking down a pair of shots in the paint and contributing a block and a rebound in the opening minutes. Kentucky Wesleyan then took their largest lead of the game, going ahead 11–8 at the 13:47 mark. S&T responded with seven quick points in under a minute, getting a triple and a paint bucket from Andrew Young (Ballwin, MO/Marquette) to take a 15–13 advantage.

The Miners extended their lead later in the half, going on an 11–3 scoring run led by Cameron Stovall (St. Louis, MO/Vashon), who recorded eight of those points. A three-pointer by Aidan Burns (Thayer, MO/Thayer) gave them their largest lead of the half at 29–18, putting them in position to go into the break up 33–25.

The Panthers had a strong start to the second half, erasing the deficit less than eight minutes in and taking a 40–39 lead off a three by Ke'Andre Jones. A two-minute stretch beginning at 12:30 featured four lead changes, ultimately leaving the Miners in front at 45–42.

Stovall took charge again after a short scoring drought from both squads, scoring six points in just over a minute to put S&T up by seven. Late scoring by the Panthers cut the Miners' lead to three at 54–51, but three-pointers from Young and Blaise Beauchamp (Minnetonka, MN/Hopkins) helped S&T build a 14-point lead in the final minutes as they secured a 68–56 victory.

Stovall paced the Miners in scoring, putting up 17 points, shooting 72% while adding 6 rebounds and a block. Young was close behind, recording 16 points and 7 rebounds. The team shot 46.6% from the field and 25% from the three, holding the Panthers to a 35% field goal percentage. They outrebounded Kentucky Wesleyan 39-35, with seven different Miners contributing on the boards.

What's Next
The Miners host Harris-Stowe in Gibson Arena on Saturday, where the team will celebrate their 2024-25 Regular Season Title during a pregame ceremony that will feature a reveal of the championship banner and presentation of the championship rings.

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