CHESTERFIELD, MO -- Missouri S&T Men's Basketball improved to 13-2 on Saturday, defeating Maryville 92-80 to pick up their fifth win a row. Benassi had one of the best performances of his career in the win, nearly picking up a triple double with 14 points, 9 rebounds, and 10 assists, the latter of which is a career high for the senior from Lee's Summit.
The Saints shot the three early and often in Saturday's contest, hitting four from long range in the first few minutes, but triples from
Cameron Stovall (St. Louis, MO/Vashon) and
Blaise Beauchamp (Minnetonka, MN/Hopkins) kept the Miners ahead. Another three from Beauchamp started a 7-0 run for the Miners, leading to Stovall slamming down a dunk to give S&T a nine-point lead at 22-13.
Maryville quickly rattled off eight unanswered, with a three from Evan Palmquist cutting the Miners lead to one at 10:13. A jumper from
Adam Rickman (Washington, MO/St. Francis Borgia) and a three from
Darron Henry (Long Beach, CA/Long Beach Poly) helped the Miners maintain their advantage, leading by seven after a three from
Zac Brown (Collinsville, OK/Collinsville). The Saints cut the deficit to three before the Miners ended the half on a 7-2 run, going ahead by as many as ten before taking a 45-37 lead into the half.
Both S&T and Maryville found an offensive rhythm early in the the second half, Maryville's Lincoln Palbicki recording 8 points and 3 rebounds in the first five minutes of the half to help cut the Miners lead to three. Buckets from Stovall and
Oliver Kokal (Chesterfield, MO/Parkway Central) along with a trio of Maryville turnovers allowed the Miners to score six unanswered in just over a minute, taking a 66-57 lead.
A pair of layups from
Andrew Young (Ballwin, MO/Marquette) and a three from Benassi started a 15-6 S&T run, leading to the Miners largest lead of the game at 82-66. The Saints continued to connect from beyond the arc, hitting a trio of threes in the final minutes as the Miners held on for a 92-80 victory in Moloney Arena.
Stovall led the Miners in scoring, putting up 21 to tie his season-high for points scored. Beauchamp shot 3-of-9 from the three, ending the game with 19 points and extending his streak of double digit scoring to six games.
What's Next
S&T returns home for games against McKendree and Illinois Springfield on Thursday/Saturday. Thursday's McKendree game will also be the next Pickaxe Platoon Rewards sticker night.
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