ST. LOUIS, MO. – It took overtime, but the University of Missouri-St. Louis men's basketball team was able to notch an 81-77 win over visiting Hannibal LaGrange on Friday night.
 
Redshirt junior Jason Towery picked up his first double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds, while senior Johnathan Matthews scored a team-high 23 points, five of which came in the extra period.
 
Records: UMSL (9-2), Hannibal-LaGrange (3-2)
 
How it Happened
UMSL clung to a 33-28 halftime lead after closing the first stanza on a 14-6 run. Matthews (seven points) and Towery (five points) combined for 12 of those points as the Tritons knocked down 6-of-7 field goals.
 
UMSL took its largest lead of the game 3:10 into the second half at 46-34, capping a 7-0 run with a three-pointer from Towery. The Trojans chiseled away the deficit over the next 13 minutes and knotted the score at 60-60 with 3:49 to play. Both teams swapped leads until a 65-65 score sent the game into OT.
 
Hannibal LaGrange scored the first five points of the extra frame, but UMSL answered with eight straight for a 73-70 lead they would not relinquish.
 
Inside the Box Score

• Redshirt freshman Steve Webb added 10 points, six assists and a pair of steals, while junior Ronnie Carson also scored 10 points and collected two steals.
• UMSL shot 46.2 percent, which included just a 39.3 percent outing in the second half before connecting on 5-of-8 field goals in the OT. HLGU shot an even 50 percent.
• The Tritons held a 33-32 rebounding edge.

 
Up Next: UMSL is idle until Saturday, Dec. 29 when it closes out its non-conference schedule, hosting Principia at 1 p.m.