(ROLLA, Mo., Feb. 11)—The McKendree University men's basketball team was stopped in a Great Lakes Valley Conference contest Saturday afternoon by Missouri S&T in Rolla, Mo., 102-88.
 
The host Miners outscored the Bearcats 23-9 over the final 8:25 of play to battle back and earn the win in a key conference match-up. McKendree is now 9-13 overall and 3-11 in GLVC play. The Bearcats will head to Liberty, Mo., on Monday for a GLVC make-up contest against William Jewell College. Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m. The game was originally scheduled for Jan. 14, but was postponed due to an ice storm that rolled through the Kansas City area.
 
Sophomore guard Nate Michael (St. Joseph, IL/St. Joseph-Ogden) poured in a season-high 31 points to lead all scorers at Missouri S&T. Michael knocked down seven three-point field goals, going 7-of-14 from beyond the arc in the contest. Junior guard Justin Blanks (Barberton, OH/Norton) matched his uniform number by adding 25 points in a reserve role for the Bearcats. Senior forward Darin Winkelman (Steeleville, IL/Steeleville) contributed 12 points while senior guard David Franklin (O'Fallon, IL/Althoff Catholic) helped out with 10 points and a team-leading six rebounds for the Bearcats.
 
McKendree trailed by as many as 14 points in the first half before taking a 47-43 deficit into the locker room. The Bearcats then used an 8-0 run to take its first lead of the game, 59-56, following a lay-up by freshman center Nolan Gerling (Germantown, IL/Mater Dei) with 15:34 remaining. A three-pointer by Blanks moments later gave McKendree its largest advantage of the afternoon at 62-58. The next several minutes saw three ties and four lead changes before Blanks sank another three-pointer at the 8:36 mark to give the Bearcats a 79-77 lead.
 
On its next possession, Missouri S&T's Telloy Simon drilled a three-pointer to push the hosts back in front at 80-79. That trifecta sparked the Miners' game-ending run. Although a jumper from Michael with 6:01 on the clock brought McKendree within 85-83, Missouri S&T responded by scoring the next eight points over a three-minute stretch to push its lead back to double digits at 93-83 with just 2:39 left. As a team, the Miners shot 62.2 percent in the second half (23-of-37) and 60 percent for the contest (42-of-70).
 
Missouri S&T (10-12, 4-11 GLVC) led for the majority of the first half. The Miners reeled off eight consecutive points to build a 20-10 lead with 11:19 left in the period. Missouri S&T eventually pushed its margin to 40-27 after a lay-up by Juwan Miller with 5:06 on the clock before McKendree fought back. The Bearcats put together a 13-4 run to slash its deficit to 44-40 with 90 left before the intermission. Winkelman drilled back-to-back three-pointers during the burst for the Bearcats.
 
The teams then traded three-pointers in the final minute of the half as Michael connected for the final basket of the half as the Bearcats were down just 47-43 at the break.
 
Randy Holmes led six Missouri S&T players scoring in double figures with 22 points. He had a double-double, adding a game-high 12 rebounds in the effort. Rokas Paulauskas also notched a double-double for the Miners with 19 points and 10 rebounds.