SETTING THE SCENE
UMSL will take its final road trip of the regular season this weekend, heading to Missouri S&T on Thursday before traveling to Drury on Saturday. The Tritons remain in the hunt for a GLVC Tournament bid with their fate essentially being in their own hands. UMSL and Missouri S&T sit in a four-way tie for 11^th place overall in the league standings with the top 12 teams earning a spot in the postseason affair. The Tritons' final opponent of the year, Maryville, sits one game behind.
 
SIZING UP THE TRITONS
UMSL is 10-14 overall, including 4-11 in the GLVC. The Tritons, which are playing their final five regular season games on the road, are coming off losses at then No. 13 ranked Bellarmine (81-71) and Southern Indiana (86-76) last Thursday and Saturday, respectively. UMSL has not lost a league game by more than 11 points and six losses have come by five or fewer points.
 
Senior Brandon Marquardt averages a team-best 14.1 points per game and leads the GLVC with 74 three-pointers, 10 shy of tying the program's single season mark. Redshirt freshman Joshua Webster follows with 11 points per game and adds 4.6 rebounds and 3.8 assists per game. He has been the team's top scorer in four of the last six games and is coming off a career-best 22 points in the loss at Southern Indiana.
 
SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS
Missouri S&T is 8-16 overall, including 4-11 in the GLVC, and has lost six straight as well as six straight at home. The Miners rank last in the conference in shooting percentage (42.7) despite ranking sixth in points per game (82.2). Missouri S&T leads the GLVC in offensive rebounds (14.04 per game). BJ McLaughlin averages 14 points and 5.6 rebounds per game, while Zach Ellis (12.2 ppg) and Desmond Buerge (11.6 ppg) also average double figures.
 
Drury enters a Thursday home contest against Maryville with a 16-7 record, including an 11-4 GLVC mark and sits atop the West Division standings. The Panthers lead the league in three-point shooting percentage (41.5), but average just 7.30 long balls per game. Defensively, opponents are averaging just 71.4 points per game (second in the GLVC) and are being limited to 42 percent shooting (third in the GLVC). Kameron Bundy is fourth in the league with 19.7 points per game and is second to Marquardt in three-pointers made with 67. He also averages 3.7 assists per game.
 
SERIES HISTORIES
UMSL is 36-26 all-time against Missouri S&T. The Miners won the first meeting this year, an 85-81 decision in St. Louis on December 5. Senior Brandon Marquardt scored a career-high 26 points, while senior Tre Ogles scored a season-best 18 points, but UMSL saw Missouri S&T overcome a 17-point first half deficit.
 
Drury holds a 19-7 advantage over the Tritons and posted a 61-50 victory in St. Louis on December 3 in the first meeting. UMSL shot just 25 percent in the final 20 minutes, while Drury shot 43.5 percent and overcame a 13-0 start by the Tritons.
 
UP NEXT
UMSL will close out the regular season next Thursday at Maryville.