SETTING THE SCENE
The UMSL men's basketball team hosts Maryville on Thursday night in the regular season finale. The Tritons have already secured a first round GLVC Tournament home contest on Sunday, but would assure themselves of the No. 7 seed with a win over the Saints. UMSL would also be the No. 7 seed with a loss and a loss by Truman State at Quincy. A Truman State win and a Tritons loss would drop UMSL to the No. 8 seed.

The Tritons also still have a shot at securing a share of the West Division title with a win and a Drury loss to Missouri S&T.

SENIOR NIGHT
Thursday night will also mark the final regular season home game for seniors Neil Branham, Derek Shouse, Aareon Smith and Tylor Wimbish. They will be honored at the completion of the women's game.

HOME SWEET HOME
UMSL is 10-3 at home this season and owns an all-time record of 363-213 (.632) in its home facility - the Mark Twain Building. In two years under second-year head coach Bob Sundvold are 22-6 at home, including 11-6 in GLVC play.

SIZING UP THE TRITONS
UMSL improved to 18-9 overall, including 10-7 in the GLVC with a pair of victories last week, including a 65-63 home win over Quincy and a 76-71 road win at Truman State. The Tritons are tied with Truman State for second place in the West Division standings, one game behind Drury.

UMSL has notched 18 wins for the first time since 2011-12 (19-9) and just the second time since the 1990-91 team went 22-6.

STATISTICALLY SPEAKING
Senior Aareon Smith averages team-bests of 16.9 points and 9.6 rebounds per game, including 17.9 points and 10.2 rebounds per game in GLVC play and is one of two players to average a double-double in league contests. Senior Tylor Wimbish follows with 12.4 points and 5.6 rebounds per game, while junior Derek Williams leads the squad with 2.6 assists per game. Junior Brandon Marquardt owns team-highs of 23 steals and 48 three-pointers made, while junior Kevin Swanson is shooting 54.0 percent from the field and has a team-best 17 blocks.

REIGNING GLVC PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Senior Aareon Smith was named the GLVC Player of the Week after averaging 33 points and 7.5 rebounds per game last week. He scored 28 points against Quincy, including the two game-winning free throws with 4.6 seconds remaining, and followed that up with 38 points at Truman State. He scored 29 of those points in the second on 10-of-10 shooting and netted 19 points in the first nine minutes. Smith shot 68.6 percent (24-of-35) from the field, including 42.9 percent (3-of-7) from three-point range and was 88.2 percent (15-of-17) at the free throw line.

WELCOME TO THE 1,000-POINT CLUB
Among his 38 points on Saturday, Aareon Smith also netted his 1,000 career point, becoming just the 16th player in program history to accomplish that feat and the first since Jonathan Griffin (2002-06). He currently ranks 15th on the scoring charts with 1,014 points.

FROM THREE-POINT RANGE
- The Tritons have netted 229 three-pointers, an average of 8.48 per game, which is fourth in the GLVC.
- The 229 three-pointers is a new single season record, betting the previous mark of 228, set in 2012-13.
- UMSL is shooting a league-best 40.3 percent from long range, which ranks 20th in NCAA II, and is shooting 40.7 percent in GLVC-only games.
- UMSL has netted double-figure three-pointers 10 different times this season, which is the second most in a season.
- Six different players have made at least 20 three-pointers this season.

SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS
Maryville has lost eight straight and is 10-16 overall, including 5-12 in the GLVC. The Saints, 2-9 on the road, are led by Trae Pemberton's 16.0 points, 3.1 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 1.6 steals per game, while Armon Provo follows with 14.8 points, 4.4 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game. Pemberton and Provo also lead the team in three-pointers with 55 and 56, respectively.

SERIES HISTORY
UMSL is 16-2 all-time against Maryville and has won the last three meetings, including an 86-79 victory earlier this season. Senior Aareon Smith recorded 19 points and 12 rebounds, while seniors Tylor Wimbish and Derek Shouse followed with 15 and 13 points, respectively. All 10 players who saw action scored, while six different players connected on a three-pointer as UMSL finished 52.4 percen (11-of-21) from long range.

THE RISE OF THE TRITONS
UMSL has recorded a winning season in each of the last four years and has already clinched a winning season in 2014-15, giving the program five straight winning seasons for the first time ever. The streak began in 2010-11 with a 16-11 mark and continued in 2011-12 (19-9) and 2012-13 (17-10). The Tritons then posted a 16-12 record a year ago.  

LOOKING AHEAD
UMSL will host a GLVC Tournament First Round game for the second straight year on Sunday against an opponent to be determined following Thursday night's games.