SETTING THE SCENEUMSL closes out the regular season on Thursday at crosstown rival Maryville with a GLVC Tournament berth on the line. A win would guarantee the Tritons play on Sunday in one of four first round games, while a loss would depend on the outcome of other league games to determine their postseason fate. UMSL has the chance to be as high as the No. 10 seed and as low as the No. 12 seed. The top four seeds receive a first round bye, while seeds five through eight will host a first round game. The complete bracket will be released by the GLVC at the conclusion of Thursday night's games.
SIZING UP THE TRITONSUMSL is 11-15 overall, including 5-12 in the GLVC, and sits in fifth place in the West Division standings. The Tritons are coming off a five-point loss (77-72) at Drury last Saturday in its last outing after rallying from 22-points down early in the second half by tying the contest with 2:35 to play. UMSL has had 10 GLVC games decided by five points or less and has won just three of those contests. The Tritons' largest margin of defeat has been 11 points, twice.
Senior
Brandon Marquardt averages 14.5 points per game and leads the GLVC with 81 three-pointers, three shy of tying the program's single season mark of 84, set by Troy Long during the 2011-12 season. He is shooting 47.1 percent from beyond the arc, which betters his single season mark of 45.8 percent a year ago, and ranks 13
th in NCAA Division II. Marquardt will also graduate with the program's career three-point shooting percentage mark, which currently stands at 46.6 percent.
Redshirt freshman
Joshua Webster adds 10.8 points per game and also averages 4.3 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 1.1 blocks per game.
SCOUTING THE OPPONENTSMaryville is 10-17 overall, including 4-13 in the GLVC. The Saints, 8-9 at home this season, are coming off a 98-67 win at Missouri S&T last Saturday. The Saints rank third in the GLVC, shooting the ball at 49.4 percent, and are led by Forrester Sims' 15.1 points per game.
SERIES HISTORYUMSL is 16-4 all-time against Maryville and has won three of the last five meetings, despite dropping a 68-64 decision in the first meeting on December 12 at home. The Saints built a 37-20 halftime lead in that game as UMSL shot just 25 percent from the field in the opening 20 minutes of play. The Tritons closed the game by outscoring the Saints, 13-2. However, the Tritons couldn't get a bucket when they needed it. Maryville kept the Tritons in the game by missing four free throws in the final 1:11. Junior
Tre Hymer paced UMSL with 15 points and 10 rebounds, while senior
Brandon Marquardt went 4-of-6 from three-point range to finish with 14 points. Junior
Joseph English added 11 points.
