Missouri S&T boxscore in PDF

The Maryville men's basketball team rallied from a 13-point deficit in the second half to post a stirring rally past visiting Missouri S&T 75-71 Saturday afternoon at Moloney Arena. Senior guard Trae Pemberton scored a career-high 31 points, and the Saints hit seven of eight free throws to seal the comeback.
 
The Miners led 37-34 to start the second half and eventually stretched their cushion to 53-40 with 11:38 to play in the game. The Saints answered with 13 straight points to tie the game. Pemberton scored on a layup to ignite the run, and he fed Jeff Leeson for an easy hoop. Leeson knocked down a triple and scored another bucket in close. Saikou Jallow converted down the lane, and Pemberton's layup deadlocked the game 53-53 at the 7:46 mark. The Miners regrouped to score five in a row but Pemberton answered with six consecutive points to push the Saints back ahead 61-60.
 
The teams traded the lead three times with the last occurring when Clement Bonardo scored for a 65-64 Missouri S&T edge with 2:36 to play. The Saints missed a 3-pointer but Max Mischkulnig soared to grab the offensive rebound and was fouled. He hit both from the line for a 66-65 advantage for what would prove to be the last lead change of the game. Forrester Sims hit four free throws around one for Missouri S&T as the Saints went up 70-66 with 33 seconds to play. Missouri S&T got two more free throws from Bonardo before Derek Deters hit one at the stripe. On the next Miners possession, the visitors were called for a foul, and Pemberton added two more for a 73-68 lead. Desmond Buerge sank a 3-pointer for Missouri S&T with 2.5 seconds left to get the game to 73-71. However, Sims iced the game with two more makes at the free-throw line for the final 75-71 margin.
 
Pemberton hit 11-of-17 shots from the field en route to his career outing. The GLVC's leading free throw shooter also hit all seven attempts at the charity stripe. Leeson made four of the five shots he took, and Mischkulnig added eight points and a team-high eight rebounds. Bonardo led Missouri S&T (8-9 overall, 1-8 GLVC) with 13 points.
 
The Saints improve to 10-8 overall, 5-4 in the conference. Maryville starts a four-game road stretch with a contest at William Jewell Thursday, Jan. 29.