SOMERS, WIS. – The University of Missouri-St. Louis men's basketball team suffered its first Great Lakes Valley Conference loss on Saturday with a 76-61 setback at Wisconsin-Parkside.
 
The Rangers outrebounded the Tritons, 40-32, including 14-8 on the offensive end, and outscored UMSL, 17-9 in second chance points to help garner the win. UW-Parkside also owned a 16-5 advantage in points off turnovers, despite just 10 Triton miscues. The hosts only turned the ball over four times.
 
UMSL slips to 11-3 overall, including 3-1 in the GLVC, while the Rangers improves to 12-1 and 4-0 in the league with their eighth straight win.
 
The Tritons shot 42.4 percent from the field, including 47.1 percent (8-of-17) from three-point range, while the Rangers shot 41.3 percent and were just 5-of-15 (33.3 percent) from long range.
 
UW-Parkside outscored UMSL, 19-10, over the final 7:22 of the first half to take a 36-30 halftime lead. After sophomore Alex Majewski scored five straight off the bench for the Tritons, including a jumper at the 8:45 mark to put UMSL on top, 20-17, the Rangers reeled off nine unanswered to ignite their run. Senior Aareon Smith scored at the 4:22 mark to end that stretch of points and to give UMSL its first bucket in over four minutes.
 
The Rangers opened the second half with an 11-4 advantage, extending the lead to 47-34 four minutes in. The Tritons then responded with seven straight to ignite a 12-2 run, pulling within 49-46 at 11:39 on Majewski's layup, but the Rangers answered right back with seven straight of their own to start a 15-4 run and posted a 64-50 lead with 4:35 to play.
 
Smith finished with 14 points and 10 rebounds, his fourth straight double-double and his seventh in the last eight games, while senior Neil Branham tallied 11 points, going 3-for-3 from three-point range. Majewski followed with 10 points on 4-of-5 shooting.
 
UMSL returns home on Thursday for one game, hosting Truman State at 7:30 p.m.