ST. LOUIS, MO. – The University of Missouri-St. Louis men's basketball team shot just 25 percent from the field in the final 20 minutes as the Tritons lost their Great Lakes Valley Conference opener, 60-51, on Thursday night.
The Tritons owned a 30-28 halftime lead after shooting 44.4 percent in the first half, but made just seven field goals and were 1-of-17 from beyond the arc in the second half.
UMSL slips to 3-3 overall, including 0-1 in the GLVC, with the loss, which snapped a three-game win streak. Drury snapped its two-game losing skid to improve to 4-2 overall, including 1-0 in the league.
Junior
Tre Hymer netted seven of nine field goals for a season-best 15 points, while junior
Alex Majewski finished with 11 points, nine rebounds and two blocked shots. Junior
Joseph English added 12 points and seven assists.
UMSL raced out to a 13-0 lead as Drury didn't hit its first field goal until the 14:15 mark after missing its first six field goal attempts. However, after a three-point play from freshman
Joshua Webster gave the Tritons a 16-5 advantage with 11:18 to go, the Panthers hit three three-pointers for a 9-0 run and pulled within 16-14. A lay-up by Majewski ended the run, but Drury followed with seven straight points for its first lead and a 21-18 advantage. UMSL later used an 8-2 run, which included back-to-back three-pointers from Hymer and senior
Cortez Conners, to take a 30-25 lead with 2:40 on the clock before owning the two-point lead at the break.
The Tritons missed their first six shots of the second half and didn't score until the 15:55 mark after Drury had taken a 32-30 lead.
The Panthers shot an even 40 percent, including 44 percent from long range (8-of-18) and owned a 37-34 rebounding advantage. The Tritons held a 9-7 edge on the offensive end, but Drury outscored UMSL, 10-5, in second chance points.
UMSL is back on the floor Saturday, hosting Missouri S&T at 3 p.m.
TRITON TIDBITS: The loss also snapped a three-game home winning streak for the Tritons… UMSL is now 7-13 in GLVC openers… Drury leads the all-time series 19-7… junior
Joseph English reached double figure scoring for the fifth straight game… the 60 points scored by Drury were the second-lowest scored this season as UMSL lowered its league-best scoring defense to 63.7 points per game… UMSL led for 19:41 of the game, while Drury led for 15:46.
