ST. LOUIS, MO. – The University of Missouri-St. Louis men's basketball team used a late 10-0 run on Sunday afternoon en route to earning a 73-71 victory over Saint Leo at the Maryville Classic.
 
The Tritons trailed by three at 64-61 with 3:44 to play before their spurt and closed the game by outscoring the Lions, 12-7, with Saint Leo hitting a three-pointer at the buzzer for the final score. UMSL improves to 6-5 overall and returns to the court January 2 at East Central in Oklahoma. Saint Leo falls to 7-6 on the year.
 
Senior Brandon Marquardt led all scorers with 23 points, his second straight 20-point outing and his fourth in the last five games. Marquardt netted five three-pointers and also pulled down six rebounds, while adding two blocked shots and two steals.
 
Marquardt scored 19 of his points in the opening 20 minutes to help the Tritons to a 42-37 halftime lead. Marquardt hit back-to-back three-pointers, while junior DeAndre Holmes also netted a long ball during an 11-0 UMSL run that turned a 20-19 deficit into a 30-20 lead with 7:08 to go. The Lions whittled the lead down to 37-34 with 1:48 to play, but Marquardt followed with five straight points as UMSL posted the six-point halftime advantage.
 
Midway through the second half, Saint Leo scored seven unanswered to knot the score at 53-53 with 9:30 to play. UMSL missed five straight shots and a pair of free throws during that stretch. Junior Joseph English ended the five-minute scoring drought at the 8:53 mark and the game then featured six lead changes and four ties until a pair of Marquardt free throws with 3:14 to play gave the Tritons a 65-64 lead they would not relinquish.
 
English added 14 points, six rebounds and three assists, scoring 12 of his points in the second half, while Majewski followed with 11 points and five rebounds.
 
The Tritons shot 44.9 percent and went 21-of-25 (84 percent) from the free throw line, while Saint Leo shot 45.5 percent and held a slim 31-29 rebounding edge, including a 10-8 advantage on the offensive end, outscoring UMSL, 17-4, in second chance points.