Shea Wiemann

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Yamani Ball was feeling it in the second half Thursday night.

When the Miners needed someone to step up and hit a big shot, Ball answered time and time again, scoring 19 of his 22 points to put the Miners in a position to win a key Great Lakes Valley Conference road game.

However, it was the Hawks’ Joey Deas who hit the big shots in overtime, scoring the first eight Rockhurst points as it pulled out an 82-76 overtime victory over UMR at Mason-Halpin Gymnasium.

Deas’ three-pointer – after the Hawks had secured an offensive rebound – gave the Hawks a 78-76 lead that stood up.

UMR had two leads in overtime, the last at 76-75 on a put-back by Shea Wiemann with 1:36 to play, but after Jordan Rider had missed a baseline jumper, the ball came back out to Deas and he drained a 20-footer to give the Hawks the lead.

The Miners trailed 14-13 after a pair of free throws at the 10:09 mark, then Rockhurst went on a 14-0 run to take a 15-point lead. A baseline jumper by Tyrone Davidson for the Miners’ first points in over six minutes halted the run and started a Miner run in which UMR outscored the Hawks 14-3 to finish the half.

UMR got a three-point play from Davidson and four points from Shea Wiemann as it scored 11 straight points to draw to within four, then Yamani Ball finished the half by hitting a three-pointer to make the score 31-27 at halftime.

The Hawks came out in the second half and rebuilt its lead in the early minutes; Aaron Hill’s steal and lay-up with 14:30 to go pushed the lead back into double figures at 44-34. Hill’s second three-pointer of the half with 12:36 to go gave the Hawks a13-point cushion.

Rockhurst led 53-40 with 9:34 to go after two free throws by Kevin Martin, but the Miners rattled off 15 points in succession. Ball’s fast-break three-pointer brought the Miners back to within two at 53-51 with 6:25 to go, then he scored again on a runner off the glass moments later to tie it at 53.

Wiemann gave UMR its first lead of the night the next time down the floor when he made a runner of his own over John Torson. However, Martin stopped the run by scoring after he got an offensive rebound and getting a three-point play out of it to give the lead back to the Hawks at 56-55 with 4:49 remaining.

Casey Noll got the lead back for the Miners with a lay-in on UMR’s next possession, but Martin hit two free throws to make it 58-57 in Rockhurst’s favor with four minutes to go. However, Ball hit another three-point shot from the top of the key to give UMR a 60-58 lead.

UMR led by four at 62-58 after two free throws by Noll, then after Hill knocked down a three for the Hawks, Ball hit a pair of three-point shots on back-to-back trips to get the lead out to seven.

Despite a five-point possession for the Hawks, the Miners still led 72-70 with 22 seconds to go but a turnover gave the ball back to the Hawks with a chance to tie it, which they did when Martin hit a lay-up at the buzzer.

Ball had 22 points to lead UMR while Wiemann finished with 20; Davidson finished with his third straight double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds. The Miners shot 62.5 percent in the second half and finished at 44.8 percent overall.

UMR (4-4, 1-2 GLVC) will play Drury Saturday at 1 p.m. in Springfield, Mo.