Box Score

ST. LOUIS, MO. – The University of Missouri-St. Louis men's basketball team used a balanced scoring attack to record a 79-58 victory over Hannibal-LaGrange on Friday night.
 
Senior Femi John scored 14 points, while juniors Derek Shouse, Aareon Smith and Denzel Reed all added 11 points. The Tritons had 10 players score in the contest, with seven of those contributing at least eight points.
 
UMSL improves to 4-2 with the win. Hannibal-LaGrange (0-6) was playing this game as an exhibition.
 
The Tritons shot 54.2 percent in the first half en route to a 45-30 lead. Hannibal-LaGrange netted its first three shots and seven of its first 13 to stay with UMSL for the first part of the opening half. But after a Joe Williams layup tied it at 16-16 with 10:50 to play, the Tritons reeled off nine straight to ignite a 17-2 run over the next 3:37, posting their largest lead of the half at 33-18.
 
UMSL opened the second half with an 11-3 run to take a 56-33 lead with 15:17 to play on a Shouse three-pointer. Hannibal-LaGrange then outscored the Tritons, 21-8, over the next 10 minutes, trimming the deficit to 64-54 with 5:28 remaining, but UMSL would hold the Trojans without a field goal for the final five minutes to help garner the win.
 
The Tritons shot 42.3 percent and owned a 36-34 rebounding advantage. Smith and John each pulled down seven rebounds while Smith also added two assists and two steals. Senior Darian Cartharn dished out a team-best four assists to go with eight points and five rebounds.
 
Hannibal-LaGrange, led by Neville Joseph's game-high 19 points, shot 42.3 percent.
 
The Tritons had a season-low seven turnovers, while forcing the Trojans into 18. UMSL took advantage of the miscues, outscoring Hannibal-LaGrange, 22-8, in points off turnovers.
 
UMSL continues its current five-game home stand on Sunday, hosting Missouri Valley at 1 p.m.
 
TRITON TIDBITS: UMSL is 3-0 at home this season and moves its nonconference home win streak to 16 games, dating back to the 2010-11 season… this was the first-ever meeting between Hannibal-LaGrange and UMSL.