EDWARDSVILLE, ILL. – The top-seeded University of Missouri-St. Louis men's basketball team came up just short of its first Great Lakes Valley Conference Tournament championship on Sunday, falling to No. 3 seed Truman State, 53-52.
 
In a battle of the two regular season co-champions, the game featured nine ties and 12 lead changes with no team leading by more than six points.
 
UMSL owned a four-point lead with two and a half minutes to play, but in the end, the Bulldogs were able to manage their second one-point victory over the Tritons this season after doing so during the regular season in Kirksville, Mo., 72-71.
 
Juniors Yaakema Rose Jr. and Jose Grubbs were both named to the All-Tournament Team.
 
UMSL will now prep for the NCAA Regional Tournament, which begins Saturday. The Tritons, who will be making their first postseason appearance since 1988, will learn who and where they play tonight at 9:30 p.m. when the NCAA unveils the bracket on www.ncaa.com.
 
RECORDS
No. 1 seed UMSL (27-6), No. 3 seed Truman State (23-8)
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
Truman State took a 22-20 lead into halftime after a defensive first half that saw the teams combine to shoot 37.7 percent, which included just 2-of-18 from three point range. The Tritons had four players with two fouls each, including three starters.
 
The Bulldogs took the game's largest lead with 11:29 to play at 39-33, capping a 12-4 run, but the Tritons battled back to go on top 44-43 six minutes later.
 
A traditional three-point play from senior Jalen Wilkins-McCoy equaled UMSL's largest lead at 52-48 with 2:33 on the clock, but tournament MVP Brodric Thomas scored the next five for Truman State, including a three-pointer with 1:03 remaining that accounted for the final score.
 
The Bulldogs missed the front end of a pair of one-and-ones in the final 18 seconds, giving UMSL a shot to retake the lead, but the Tritons were unable to convert.
 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• Wilkins-McCoy scored 15 points to go with four rebounds and two blocks.
• Rose Jr. finished with 11 points, five rebounds and three assists.
• Junior Shane Wissink added 10 points, while redshirt sophomore Steve Webb recorded seven rebounds and three assists.
• UMSL shot an even 40 percent and held a 31-28 rebounding advantage, while Truman shot47.6 percent.