KANSAS CITY, MO. – Senior Tylor Wimbish connected on two free throws with five seconds to play to give the University of Missouri-St. Louis men's basketball team a 77-76 win at Rockhurst on Thursday night in Great Lakes Valley Conference action.
 
In a game that saw 13 ties and 10 lead changes and featured several runs by both teams, it was the Tritons who scored the final four points of the game to erase a three-point deficit with 65 seconds remaining to garner the win.
 
Senior Aareon Smith scored a game-high 23 points as the Tritons improve to 15-5 overall, including 6-3 in the GLVC. Rockhurst slips to 5-13 and 1-9 in the loss.
 
Smith also intercepted Rockhurst's inbounds pass to end the game.
 
UMSL used a late 10-2 run capped with a three-pointer from senior Neil Branham, courtesy of Max Cook off his own offensive rebound, to take a 68-62 lead with just under seven minutes to play. However, Rockhurst followed with an 11-1 run as the Tritons missed six straight field goals before Wimbish ended the drought at the 2:04 mark to cut the deficit to 73-71. Smith followed with a pair of free throws and Rockhurst answered with a traditional three-point play for the 76-73 lead with 1:05 to play. Smith then scored another basket before the Hawks missed a three-point shot on their end of the court. Senior Derek Shouse grabbed the rebound and Wimbish was fouled setting up the winning free throws.
 
Wimbish finished with 10 points, while junior Kevin Swanson and sophomore Alex Majewski added 12 and 11 points, respectively, off the bench.
 
Rockhurst took a 42-35 lead into halftime. The Hawks erased an early 17-11 deficit with a 17-4 run, capped with 10 unanswered, to post a 28-21 lead with 5:33 on the clock. Cook ended the Hawks spurt at the 5:20 mark with a three-point bucket and gave the Tritons their first field goal in nearly six minutes but Rockhurst answered with two straight buckets to take 32-24 lead.
 
The Hawks scored two quick baskets to open the second half extending their led to 46-35 before the Tritons answered with an 11-0 run, draining four straight shots, including a layup off a steal by Branham at the 16:52 mark that knotted the score at 46-46. Swanson gave the Tritons a 54-49 advantage three minutes later, but Rockhurst followed with a 10-4 run over the next 3:26 for a 60-58 lead.
 
UMSL shot an even 50 percent, but equaled a season-low three-pointers, while Rockhurst connected at a 49.1 percent clip and owned a 36-25 rebounding advantage. The Tritons took advantage of 11 Hawks turnovers, scoring 16 points on the other end.
 
Smith pulled down eight rebounds and added two steals, while Cook recorded four assists.
 
UMSL, which began a four-game road trip in tonight's game, continues its trek on Saturday at William Jewell.