QUINCY, ILL. – The University of Missouri-St. Louis men's basketball team overcame a 20-point deficit en route to recording a 58-53 victory over Grand Valley State in the season opener for both teams at the GLVC\GLIAC Challenge, hosted by Quincy, on Saturday afternoon.
 
The Tritons trailed 40-20 with just under 18 minutes to play before outscoring the Lakers, 38-13, the remainder of the game.
 
Senior Aareon Smith, who scored 13 of his 17 points in the final half, connected on four straight free throws to ignite a 15-2 run to trim the deficit to 42-35. The Lakers answered with six straight before the Tritons did the same as the deficit remained seven at 48-41 with 5:44 to play.
 
Then after Grand Valley State scored a bucket to make it 50-41, UMSL used a 13-0 run to take a 54-50 lead with 1:09 remaining on a pair of Alex Majewski free throws. A three-pointer by junior Tre Ogles with 1:39 to go during that run gave UMSL a 52-50 lead it would not relinquish.
 
A Lakers three-pointer following Majewski's free throws brought Grand Valley State within one, but Majewski sealed the game with two free throws on the ensuing possession. He finished with eight points, while Ogles and junior Brandon Marquardt each tallied 11 points.
 
UMSL shot just 21.9 percent in the opening 20 minutes and saw Grand Valley State use a 13-2 run over a stretch of five minutes 45 seconds to turn a 13-10 advantage into a 26-12 lead. The Lakers took a 34-18 lead into halftime.
 
The Tritons finished the game shooting 24.5 percent and recorded 34 rebounds, including 12 on the offensive end. Smith pulled down 10 boards to notch his first double-double of the season. Grand Valley State shot 40.4 percent and snagged 38 boards.
 
UMSL closes out GLVC/GLIAC Challenge action tomorrow against Ferris State at 12 p.m.