We will never know how far the 2019-20 UMSL men's basketball team could have gone, but we will always remember what they accomplished.
 
The Tritons were ready to board their bus last Thursday to head to Indianapolis when word came from the NCAA that all championships would be canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
 
And with that news, UMSL's historic season was cut short and they weren't able to step foot on the court for their first NCAA Tournament appearance in 32 years.
 
THE SEASON
Coming off a 20-9 record a year ago, which marked the program's first 20-win season since 1990-91, seventh-year head coach Bob Sundvold returned a solid nucleus of five players who were either starters or key reserves in seniors Jason Towery and Jalen Wilkins-McCoy, juniors Jose Grubbs and Shane Wissink and sophomore Steve Webb and also welcomed junior college All-American transfer Yaakema Rose Jr.
 
Maybe that first exhibition game at NCAA Division I Eastern Illinois where the Tritons held a one-point lead at halftime and led by as many as six before the Panthers pulled away was an indication of things to come.
 
UMSL won its season opener at Tiffin, but suffered an 18-point loss to Walsh before coming home to win seven straight in the start of a program-best 13-game win streak.
 
After winning two games in Puerto Rico prior to the holiday break to conclude the non-conference season, the Tritons went into the New Year at 10-1 for the first time in program history.
 
As GLVC play resumed with the start of 2020, UMSL improved to 5-0 in the league, which included a 72-70 win at Drury, snapping a 12-game losing streak to the Panthers.
 
The Tritons saw their 13-game win streak snapped in a five-point loss at then No. 1 ranked Bellarmine, but won the next six, beginning with a 69-66 home win over then No. 23 ranked Indianapolis.
 
UMSL would then lose three of their next four - all on the road, including one-point losses at Truman State and Southern Indiana. However, the regular season ended with four wins at home, including an 86-79 victory over Illinois Springfield that helped crown them GLVC regular season co-champions.
 
The Tritons took the number seed into the GLVC Tournament for the first time in program history and edged Drury in the quarterfinals, 53-51, in a finish that was literally made for TV in March. Down one and with time expiring, Rose Jr. threw up an off-balanced three-pointer from the wing that found nothing but net.
 
UMSL then found its way into the program's first GLVC Tournament championship game with a 78-63 win over Southern Indiana in the semifinals, but came up just short of bringing home its first trophy in a 53-52 loss to Truman State in the title game.

Later that night after the championship game, the Tritons were awarded a spot in the NCAA Midwest Regional as the No. 3 seed. They were scheduled to face No. 6 seed Southern Indiana in the first of four quarterfinal round games.

UMSL finished with a program-record 27 wins, finishing at 27-6, which including a 16-4 GLVC record, also a program-record for league wins.
 
NATIONAL PROMINENCE
UMSL spent 10 straight weeks in the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) Division II Coaches Top 25 Poll.
 
They received their first national ranking since the 1990-91 season on January 7, coming in at No. 23 and climbed as high as a program-best No. 13 on February 4 before being ranked No. 19 in the final poll.
 
AWARDS AND HONORS
UMSL earned two major GLVC postseason awards, while two Tritons were named First Team All-GLVC. Sundvold was voted GLVC Coach of the Year, while Webb was tabbed as the league's Defensive Player of the Year. Rose Jr. and Grubbs were selected to the All-GLVC First Team.
 
Rose Jr. would later be named to the Division II Conference Commissioners Association (D2CCA) All-Midwest Region Second Team.
 
DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
With no player on the court taller than six-foot five inches, the Tritons relied on their defense, ranking third in NCAA DII in scoring defense, allowing just 61.5 points per game. They held opponents under 60 points six times and under 70 points 15 times.
 
UMSL recorded 286 steals, the 10^th most in NCAA DII and limited opponents to 41.6 percent shooting, which was 22^nd in the country.
 
STATISTICALLY SPEAKING
UMSL set single season records for points scored (2,438) and three-point field goals made (267) and attempted (709). Additionally, they recorded the second most steals in a season (286), posted the third most field goals made (912), fifth in rebounds (1,196) and seventh in assists (448).
 
Individually, Wissink tallied the second highest three-point field goal percentage (46.0), while Rose Jr. was third in steals (60), Towery tied for fourth in three-pointers made (77), Webb was seventh in assists (117), Rose Jr. was 10^th in points (438) and Wilkins-McCoy was 10^th in blocks (28).