Box Score

FAYETTE, IOWA – Upper Iowa rallied back from a 15-point second half deficit en route to claiming an 81-75 victory over the visiting University of Missouri-St. Louis men's basketball team on Tuesday night.
 
The Tritons, who defeated the Peacocks, 79-69, last Thursday at home, fall to 2-2 on the year, while Upper Iowa, which was playing in its home opener, improves to 1-3.
 
UMSL used a 9-2 run to open the second half, turning a 45-39 halftime lead into a 56-41 advantage with 16:43 to play on a layup by senior Darian Cartharn. However, the Peacocks followed with a 12-2 run, pulling within 56-53 at the 13:24 mark.
 
A traditional three-point play from senior Michael Weber, who was playing in his home state of Iowa, pushed the lead back to double figures at 68-57 with just under nine minutes to play, but Upper Iowa would stage the last big run of the game, and took a 74-73 lead it would not relinquish on a Jordan Hay three-pointer with 2:04 remaining.
 
Cartharn finished with a team-best 16 points, knocking down 4-of-9 three-pointers, while Weber added 13 points and five assists.
 
Junior Derek Shouse followed with 12 points off the bench – all in the first half – while senior Femi John chipped in 10 points and pulled down six rebounds.
 
The Tritons shot just 34.3 percent from the field in the second half after connecting at a 53.1 clip in the first half, finishing at 43.3 percent. UMSL was 11-of-24 (45.8 percent) from the three-point line. Upper Iowa shot 53.7 percent, including 44.4 percent (8-of-18) from three-point range and owned a 38-30 rebounding advantage.
 
UMSL took advantage of 14 Upper Iowa turnovers, turning the miscues into 21 points on the other end.
 
The Tritons return to action on Saturday, hosting Robert Morris-Springfield at 3 p.m. in the start of a five-game home stand.