ST. LOUIS, MO. – The University of Missouri-St. Louis men's basketball team shot a season-high 62.3 percent en route to an 87-55 win over McKendree on Thursday night in the Great Lakes Valley Conference opener.
 
Five players scored in double figures, led by junior Ronnie Carson's 19 points, while redshirt junior Jason Towery recorded a career-high 17 points on 8-of-10 shooting.
 
Records: UMSL (7-1, 1-0 GLVC), McKendree (2-3, 0-1 GLVC)
 
How it Happened
UMSL led from start to finish, connecting at 68.8 percent clip in the first half to own a 48-26 halftime lead.
 
McKendree opened the second half with a 10-2 run to pull within 50-36, but the Tritons followed with nine straight to ignite a 12-2 run for a 62-38 advantage and never looked back.
 
Inside the Box Score

• Senior Johnathan Matthews added 17 points, while senior Eric Dust finished with 16 points and eight rebounds.
• Junior Josh Carter chipped in 10 points and snagged five rebounds.
• UMSL held a 33-29 rebounding advantage and took advantage of 16 Bearcat turnovers, outscoring the guests 19-5 in points off turnovers.
• The Tritons committed a season-low six turnovers.
• UMSL equaled a season-high 23 assists with sophomore Shane Wissink recording eight of those and redshirt freshman Steve Webb handing out six.

 
Triton Tidbits

• UMSL improved to 8-15 in GLVC openers. The Tritons were opening the league schedule at home for the first time since the 2015-16 season.
• UMSL has won four straight games.
• The Tritons improve to 17-7 all-time against McKendree, including 6-2 since the Bearcats joined the GLVC. Four of the last five meetings had been decided by four points or less.

 
Up Next: UMSL hosts Illinois Springfield on Saturday at 3 p.m.