NORTH CANTON, Ohio – The University of Missouri-St. Louis men's basketball team used a strong second half in its 67-54 win over Tiffin on Saturday afternoon at Alumni Arena in North Canton, Ohio. The Tritons are 2-0 while the Dragons fall to 0-2.

UMSL trailed early in the contest but quickly erased the deficit with a 9-4 run to grab a four-point lead on a layup by Isaiah Fuller with 12:37 remaining in the half. Tiffin pulled within 13-11 but the Tritons countered with an 11-2 run to build their largest lead of the half at 24-13 on a fast break layup from Fuller.

The Dragons scored eight in a row to cut UMSL's lead to 24-21 after a jumper from Kasey Hunt but the Tritons closed the half scoring seven of the final 12 points to take a 31-26 lead into halftime.

UMSL opened the second half on a 23-7 run over the first nine minutes to build its largest lead of the contest at 54-33 on a pair of free throws from Dylan West.

Tiffin wouldn't get closer than 14 the rest of the way as the Tritons held the Dragons to 38 percent shooting in the final 20 minutes while UMSL shot 52 percent in the stanza including 3-of-7 from beyond the arc.

Fuller led the Tritons with 16 points in the contest on 8-of-12 shooting while West added 15 points and Bowen Sandquist dropped in nine more. West also pulled down a game-high 10 rebounds for his first double-double of the season.

UMSL shot 48 percent (28-for-59) from the field in the contest, was 6-of-16 from three and shot 63 percent at the foul line. The Tritons outrebounded Tiffin 34-32 and forced 16 turnovers in the contest.

Carius Key scored a game-high 21 points and was the lone Tiffin player to reach double figures in scoring. Trent Williams chipped in with seven points. The Dragons were held to just 39 percent (17-for-44) in the contest including 8-of-22 from three and only shot 55 percent at the foul line.

UMSL hosts East-West University in its home opener on Thursday (Nov. 17) at 6 p.m. at the Mark Twain Building.