SETTING THE SCENE
Fresh off an 88-83 GLVC win at Truman State last Saturday, UMSL looks to stay in the win column when it hosts William Jewell on Thursday. The Tritons will then end the week by hosting Central Christian College of the Bible on Saturday.
Thursday's contest marks the third and final GLVC game to be played prior to the new year, with the remaining 15 league games will be played in 2018.
UMSL is 1-1 in GLVC games after opening the season on the road last weekend, while William Jewell is 2-0, having opened its league slate at home. The Tritons were tabbed second in the West Division of the GLVC Preseason Coaches Poll, while William Jewell was selected last in the West, but sits atop that division.
SIZING UP THE TRITONS
UMSL is 4-3 overall. The Tritons bounced back from a 102-69 loss at Drury on Thursday to record an 88-83 victory at Truman State on Saturday as the Tritons opened GLVC play. Senior
Elijah Watson scored 23 points and dished out 12 assists in the win, netting two free throws with 35 seconds to play to give his team an 84-83 lead they would not relinquish. Watson averaged 16 points and 6.5 assists per game in the two games, while senior
Steven Davis averaged 16 points, draining nine three-pointers.
The Tritons are 2-0 at home, 1-3 on the road and 1-0 on a neutral court.
STATISTICALLY SPEAKING
• Senior
Steven Davis ranks 15th in the GLVC with 14 points per game and has a team-best 23 three-pointers, having made at least one in all five games. His 3.3 three-pointers per game is tied for first in the league.
• Junior
Johnathan Matthews follows with 10.6 points per game and leads the team at the free throw line, having made 21-of-27 (77.8 percent).
• Senior
Elijah Watson leads the GLVC and ranks 12th in NCAA DII with 7.0 assists per game. He also averages 10 points, three bounds and 1.6 steals per game and owns a 3.1 assist-turnover ratio is third in the league and 30th nationally.
• Redshirt sophomore
Jason Towery averages 5.9 rebounds per game.
SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS
William Jewell is off to its best start since 1987-88 with a 9-0 mark, including a 2-0 record in the GLVC. The Cardinals are coming off a 92-81 overtime win over Quincy last Saturday. Its nine wins match last year's win total. William Jewell is second in the league in scoring average with 92.9 points per game and are second in three-pointers with 11 per game. Senior guard Patrick Whelan leads the league with 20.9 points per game, while junior guard Keith Hayes follows with 20.2 points per game. The duo also combines for 52 of the Cardinals' 99 three-pointers this season.
Central Christian enters a Friday game at Randall University with a 3-4 record. The Saints are playing Saturday's game as an exhibition. UMSL is their second GLVC opponent this week as McKendree defeated them 116-50 Monday night. Kedron Rollings averages 17.1 points and has knocked down 20 three-pointers. As a team, the Saints are averaging 12.9 long balls per game.
SERIES HISTORIES
UMSL is 12-7 all-time against William Jewell although the Cardinals won last year's meeting, a 69-68 decision in Liberty, Mo. William Jewell's Patrick Whelan scored five points in the final 41 seconds, including the second of two free throws with 7.8 seconds to play for the game-winner.
Elijah Watson scored 27 points in that game for the Tritons.
UMSL and Central Christian meet for the second time with UMSL earning a 102-42 victory during the 2014-15 season.
UP NEXT
UMSL is idle for final exams until December 18-19 when the Tritons will play two games across town in the Maryville Classic against Oklahoma Christian and Purdue Northwest.
