JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – Missouri S&T Men's Basketball took down Lincoln 79-75 on the road on Thursday night.
The Miners held a two-point edge after the first half at 39-37. At a 4-4 tie, Lincoln went on a 9-0 run to make the score 13-4. S&T was down by five points until
Aidan Burns (Thayer, MO/Thayer) brought it within two points with a three-pointer. That started a 7-0 run midway through the half as the Miners took a 22-20 lead.
Lincoln tied it up with 8:05 left at 22-22.
Alex Benassi (Lee's Summit, MO/Lee's Summit) drained a three-pointer and a jumper to start a 7-0 run for the Miners. The Blue Tigers tied it up at the end of the half.
Andrew Young (Ballwin, MO/Marquette) hit two free throws with 55 seconds left as S&T went into the locker room with a 39-37 lead.
In the second half, Missouri S&T outscored Lincoln 40-38 to win the game 79-75. Franck Yetna tied the game early in the half and Max Ekono gave the Blue Tigers a lead. The Miners took the lead back until Lincoln hit two free throws. With 13:18 left, Andreas Fuller hit a three-point shot. With 11 minutes left, Lincoln held a 61-54 lead.
Benassi cut it to four points with a three-point shot landed. With 6:32 left and a Blue Tigers seven-point lead, S&T went on a 6-0 run to make the score 70-71. Lincoln hit two free throws until Benassi and
Ryan Sroka (Lake in the Hills, IL/Huntley) both landed shots to make the score 74-73. Both teams traded free throws at the end of the game before S&T went on a 5-0 run to win it 79-75.
Benassi put up a season-high 19 points for S&T. He shot 6-for-8 from the field, 2-for-3 from beyond the arc and 5-for-5 from the free throw line. Benassi added four steals and three rebounds. Young collected 16 points, seven rebounds and three blocks.
Lovell Williams (Rogers, MN/Maple Grove) tallied 12 points, three rebounds, three assists and three steals. Sroka also put up 12 points for the Miners.
Missouri S&T shot 50.9% from the field and 6-for-14 from three-point range. They had 13 steals to just seven for Lincoln. S&T recorded 30 points in the paint, 20 points off turnovers and 16 fast break points. In this game, there were 10 ties and nine lead changes.
The Miners improved to 23-3 and 17-2 in the GLVC following the win. They are on a four-game winning streak and sit at 8-1 on the road. They clinched the number one seed in the GLVC last week and will play the eighth seed next weekend.
What's Next
The Miners are set to play in the regular season finale on Saturday at Drury at 3 p.m. Following the finale, the GLVC Tournament will begin on Mar. 6 at 12 p.m. against the eighth seed. The tournament is from Mar. 6-9 at Hyland Arena in St. Charles, Missouri.
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