SPRINGFIELD, MO -- Tonight's game against Drury did not go the Miners' way, with Missouri S&T falling to the Panthers 89-77. The loss did not affect the team's conference tournament seed though, with the Miners set to play #8 McKendree at 12pm on Thursday, March 6th.
A couple of early threes from Drury's Brock Wakefield helped put the home team up 10-6 early on. However, S&T would close that gap just a few minutes later, tying the game at 17-17 roughly eight minutes in. The Panthers responded with a 6-0 run that gave them a lead that they would hold until a layup by
Zac Brown (Collinsville, OK/Collinsville) tied the contest at 31-31. There would be three more ties in the final minutes of the half, before a late "and one" jumper by DU's Kanon Gipson sent the Panthers into halftime up 41-38.
Less than a minute into the second half, a couple of makes from
Andrew Young (Ballwin, MO/Marquette) gave the Miners their first lead since 16:53 in the first. That lead would not last long though, as Drury's Colin Hardrick knocked down a three on the next possession to put his team in front again.
Lovell Williams (Rogers, MN/Maple Grove) would instigate a quick five points for the Miners a short while later, hitting a three and then getting a steal and fast break layup to tie the game at 48-48. Buckets from Williams and
Cameron Stovall (St. Louis, MO/Vashon) helped put the Miners up by four at 13:26, giving them what would be their largest lead of the day.
The Miners would lose their lead a minute later after back-to-back threes from the Panthers, before a three-minute scoring drought put them behind 66-59. S&T started hitting again, scoring on their next three possessions, but were still unable to catch up as the Panthers continued to make shots to maintain their lead. With under four minutes to play, Drury went on a 9-0 run to extend their lead to thirteen points. The Miners were never able to cut the deficit back to single digits after that, leading to the 89-77 final score.
The Miners struggled on the boards, only picking up 29 rebounds to Drury's 39 for a season-worst rebounding margin of -10. Williams was the leading scorer tonight, putting up 19 points along with 7 assists and 4 rebounds.
What's Next
The Great Lakes Valley Conference Tournament is next week and the Miners will play #8 McKendree in the first round.
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