ST. LOUIS, MO., January 26, 2019 – The University of Missouri-St. Louis men's basketball team fended off visiting Maryville on Saturday, securing a 70-64 Great Lakes Valley Conference victory.
 
Senior Johnathan Matthews finished with 14 points, which included netting 6-of-6 free throws in the final 32 seconds. Senior Eric Dust led the Tritons with 16 points, 14 of those coming in the opening half.
 
Records: UMSL (15-4, 6-3 GLVC), Maryville (7-11, 2-7 GLVC)
 
How it Happened
UMSL held a 32-28 halftime advantage after leading by double figures earlier in the frame. The Tritons raced out to a 20-8 advantage nine minutes in, but were then outscored 18-7 over the next eight minutes as the Saints got within 27-26.
 
An 11-0 second half run by the Saints gave Maryville a 49-48 lead with 6:38 to play – its first lead since the 17:08 mark of the first half. UMSL then ended a 5:36 scoring drought with a three-pointer from junior Ronnie Carson to ignite a 9-0 run to go back on top 57-49.
 
Maryville would get back within two with 56 seconds on the clock, but Matthews helped seal the game with his free throws, while redshirt freshman Steve Webb had a steal and lay-in and junior Jalen Wilkins-McCoy had an offensive dunk put back – both in the final 14 seconds.
 
Inside the Box Score

• Webb scored all eight of his points in the second half, while Wilkins-McCoy finished with seven points and a season-high 12 rebounds, nine of which came in the final 20 minutes.
• Sophomore Anthony Hughes chipped in nine points.
• Sophomore Shane Wissink dished out five assists.
• UMSL shot 43.3 percent and held a 36-32 rebounding advantage, while Maryville shot 49.1 percent, including 51.9 percent in the second half.
• The Tritons were 11-of-15 at the free-throw line, while Maryville was 8-of-16.

Triton Tidbits

• UMSL picks up its 15^th victory, surpassing last year's season total of 14 wins with nine games to play.
• The Tritons improve to 15-4 overall for just the fourth time in program history and the first since the 1990-91 season.

  Up Next: UMSL hosts Rockhurst on Thursday at 7:30 p.m.