SPRINGFIELD, IL -- Missouri S&T's season ended tonight in a 65-56 loss to Missouri-St. Louis in the Midwest Regional Semifinal.
Scoring did not come easy in this contest for either team, with both teams playing some of their best defense of the year. The Tritons were the first to get some shots to fall, getting contributions from Troy Glover III, Matt Enright, and Janier Harris as they went up 12-6.
With the Miners still down by six at 8:34, a tip-in rebound by
Zac Brown (Collinsville, OK/Collinsville) and a three from
Lovell Williams (Rogers, MN/Maple Grove) helped cut into the Tritons lead, making it a three-point game at 7:02, shifting momentum to the Miners temporarily. The Triton defense would stop that momentum dead in its tracks though, holding the Miners scoreless for the next two and a half minutes to rebuild their lead to 21-15. However, a couple of threes by
Ryan Sroka (Lake in the Hills, IL/Huntley) re-energized S&T and the Miner crowd, making it a one-point game at 25-24. UMSL's Savon Wykle hit a jumper in the final minute of the half, putting the Tritons up 27-24 before halftime.
A quick layup by Williams and a layup by Stovall out of the break looked like it would set the tone for the Miners offense in the second half. UMSL showed their ability to score as well though, hitting a triple and a layup to match the Miners offensive attack.
The Miners would struggle against a stout UMSL defense in the next four minutes, being held scoreless until an
Andrew Young (Ballwin, MO/Marquette) layup at 15:09. The drought did its damage though, allowing the Tritons to build a ten point lead that they would eventually extend to thirteen at 51-38.
A short time later, Young, Stovall, and Sroka combined for an 8-0 run in four minutes to make it a 53-48 game at 4:19. Unlike yesterday's game against Malone, the Miners were unable to finish the run though, missing a few shots down the stretch and needing to foul to try to stay in the game, leading to a 65-56 defeat.
Young led the team in scoring, putting up 19 points and going 8-of-15 from the field. Sroka got into a rhythm at times as well, knocking down a couple of critical threes as he went 2-for-4 from beyond the arc.
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