ROLLA, MO -- It was greenout night in Gibson Arena last night as the Miners faced the William Jewell Cardinals. The visitors came in and pulled off an upset victory over ninth-ranked S&T, taking them down 85-80 in over time. Notably, the Miners were without star forward
Andrew Young (Ballwin, MO/Marquette) tonight.
The Cardinals grabbed a commanding lead early, hitting three triples and scoring 12 unanswered points in the first couple of minutes. An S&T timeout seemed to help the Miners right the ship though, leading to a 10-2 S&T run that cut the Cardinals lead to just four. The Miners would take their first lead of the game at 5:50, with a
Blaise Beauchamp (Minnetonka, MN/Hopkins) bucket capping off another 10-2 run that put S&T up 28-27. The Miners did not relinquish the lead in the final minutes of the first half, leading by as many as six before hitting the locker rooms up 38-33.
Jewell cut the Miners lead to one twice in the second half before a three pointer by Jason Thirdkill Jr. finally gave them the lead back at 58-57. The Miners responded with a couple of makes from
Zac Brown (Collinsville, OK/Collinsville) and a three from
Lovell Williams (Rogers, MN/Maple Grove) that gave them another six point lead off of a 10-3 run. With less than six minutes to play, a steal by
Cameron Stovall (St. Louis, MO/Vashon) and a fastbreak layup by
Ryan Sroka (Lake in the Hills, IL/Huntley) gave the Miners their largest lead of the game up by nine. A couple of empty possessions hurt the Miners though, leading to the Cardinals cutting it a to a three point game at 73-70. With a minute and a half left, Jewell's Jordan Jermain knocked down a three-point shot well past the arc in the final seconds of the shot clock to make it a two point game. Jermain would hit a pull up jumper on the ensuing possession to tie the game at 77-77. The Miners were able to hold the ball for the final possession, attempting a long range three that just missed, taking the game to overtime. The extra period was all Jewell, with the Cardinals outscoring the Miners 8-3 as the Miners went 0-6 from the floor in OT.
Shooting woes plagued the Miners as they shot 46.2% for the second-wost shooting percentage at home this season. Threes were the biggest struggle, with the Miners shooting 21.4% and making a season-low three on fourteen attempts.
Alex Benassi (Lee's Summit, MO/Lee's Summit) was the Miners leading scorer, going 6-for-7 for a season-high 18 points. Brown had a standout game in Young's absence, tying his career-high of 17 points and picking up 9 rebounds. Brown shared the lead in rebounds with
Ryan Sroka (Lake in the Hills, IL/Huntley), whose nine boards are a season-high for the graduate student.
What's Next
The Miners host Truman State tomorrow afternoon at 3pm for Military Appreciation Day and Senior Day. The Senior Day ceremony will take place immediately following the 1pm women's basketball game.
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