ROLLA, MO -- The Miners delivered one of the most exciting games of the year in the final home game of the regular season earlier today, coming back from down by four in the final minute to take the 69-68 win over Truman. Today was Senior Day and the Miners honored graduating seniors
Tyler Heidbrink (Owensville, MO/Owensville),
Ryan Sroka (Lake in the Hills, IL/Huntley),
Kyle Renkoski (Pierce City, MO/Pierce City), and
Lovell Williams (Rogers, MN/Maple Grove) for their contributions to the program.
Missouri S&T opened the game strong, taking nine of the first twelve points to build a six-point lead at 16:02, their largest of the game. However, a slow-scoring first quarter allowed Truman to rally, tying the game at 13-13 by 9:45. The Bulldogs then went on a 7-0 run to take a six-point lead. With less than a minute left in the half, Truman seemed poised to go into the break with the lead, up by four. A clluth three-pointer and a mid-range jumper from Sroka would cut Truman's lead to one though, before a steal and quick layup by Williams put the Miners ahead again as the first half buzzer sounded.
The second half began with the Miners struggling offensively, missing six of their first nine shots. This allowed Truman to seize a 41-38 lead, which quickly grew to ten points at 52-42. Blaise Beauchamp (Minnetonka, MN/Hopkins) stepped up to keep the Miners within striking distance, scoring five of their next ten points and grabbing an offensive rebound that helped trim the deficit to three. Key buckets from Andrew Young (Ballwin, MO/Marquette) and free throws further closed the gap, bringing S&T within one at 57-56.
Truman, however, answered with a three-pointer and an "and one" play, extending their lead back to seven at 4:17. Despite the threat of a double-digit deficit, the Miners refused to back down. With 1:20 left, they cut it to four. Beauchamp then nailed a crucial three-pointer with 0:37 remaining, making it a one-point game. Williams followed with a steal, which led to free throws for S&T. Down by one with 0:17 left, Young calmly sank both free throws to put the Miners ahead and then proceeded to pick up a steal on the other end of the court.
Truman had one final chance to spoil senior night after a missed front end of a one-and-one by S&T, but their last-second shot bounced off the rim as time expired, sealing the 69-68 victory for the Miners.
Young led the Miners in scoring today with 21 points, while Sroka had a big game as well, shooting 60% for 14 points and grabbing 8 rebounds. Williams moved past Missouri Sports Hall of Famer Tim Holloway on the S&T career assists leaderboard tonight, bringing his S&T career total to 346 for the third most in Miner history. Tonight's win pushed S&T's record to 20-3, making this their first 20+ win season since 1995-96.
What's Next
The Miners face Southwest Baptist and Rockhurst on the road next Thursday and Saturday as the regular season nears the end.
Follow Miners Men's Basketball on X and Instagram at miners_mbb
