LIBERTY, Mo. - The William Jewell men's basketball team had two opportunities late to tie the game but came up short, falling to Missouri S&T 78-74 on Sunday. The Cardinals drop to 1-3 on the year with the loss. 

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Missouri S&T took an early 14-5 lead in the opening minutes but the Cardinals responded with a 9-0 run, on the back of seven straight points from Mason Alexander to tie the score at 14. The two teams traded points for the remainder of the half, with the Miners taking a three point lead into the locker room.
• The Miners expanded their lead to 10 midway through the second half. The Cardinals went on a run, led by seven from Alexander to tie the game at 68 before Kobe McKinley's jumper put Jewell on top with just under four minutes to play. Missouri S&T retook the lead with 1:19 to play and the Cardinals had the opportunity to knot things up again but two costly turnovers forced Jewell to foul and the Miners converted at the line.  

FOR THE CARDINALS

• Alexander poured in a season-high 25 points on 9-of-13 from the floor. 
• Grant Stubbs added his second straight double-double with 14 points and 11 rebounds while Kobe McKinley and Robbie Hanson added 11 and 10 points respectively. 
• The Cardinals shot a season-best 43% from the field and outrebounded Missouri S&T 43-29. 

FOR THE MINERS

• The Miners put five players in double-figures led by Julien Smith's 17 points and seven rebounds.

UP NEXT
The Cardinals are off until after the new year when they are scheduled to host January 3 at 3 p.m.