ST. LOUIS, MO. – Redshirt freshman Steve Webb filled out the stat sheet with 19 points, seven assists, five rebounds, three steals and two blocks as the University of Missouri-St. Louis men's basketball team improved to 2-0 with a 96-80 win over Tiffin on Saturday in its final game of the GLVC/GMAC Challenge, hosted by Maryville.
 
The Tritons are 2-0 for the first time since the 2014-15 season.
 
Records: UMSL (2-0), Tiffin (0-2)
 
How it Happened
UMSL clung to a 44-43 halftime lead after seeing a 12-point lead erased. A three-pointer from sophomore Jose Grubbs equaled the Tritons' largest lead at 41-29, but Tiffin followed with 14 unanswered to pull ahead before sophomore Shane Wissink knocked down a three ball for the one-point advantage.
 
Tiffin netted its first five shots to jump out to an early 11-6 advantage four minutes in before a three-pointer from junior Ronnie Carson tied it at 11-11 and a three-pointer from senior Johnathan Matthews capped a 10-2 run for a 16-13 lead.
 
The two teams combined to shoot 57.4 percent in the opening 20 minutes.
 
The Tritons opened the second half with a 10-5 spurt and later used a 6-0 run to turn a two-point advantage into a 69-61 lead on a Webb lay in with nine minutes play. The Dragons got within 71-68 at 6:38, but Carson scored UMSL's next five to ignite a 21-8 run over the next five minutes for a 92-76 lead.
 
Inside the Box Score

• Five players, including Webb, scored in double figures. Carson and Matthews added 16, while senior Eric Dust followed with 15 and junior Jason Towery chipped in 11.
• UMSL shot 59.3 percent and held a 33-28 rebounding advantage, while Tiffin shot 47.8 percent. Matthews had a team-best six boards.
• The Tritons dished out 22 assists. Wissink and Carson had five each.

 
Up Next: UMSL hosts Webster on Monday at 7 p.m. in its home opener, which also opens a 12-game homestand.