ST. LOUIS – The fourth ranked University of Missouri-St. Louis men's basketball team looks to remain unbeaten as it goes for its 13th straight win on Thursday at Rockhurst. The Tritons are one win shy of tying the mark for the longest winning streak in school history. The record was set by the 1971-72 team and equaled by the 2019-20 squad.
UMSL is one of only five unbeaten teams remaining in NCAA Division II heading into this week's games.
The Tritons improved to 12-0 with an 83-61 win over Parkside on Saturday afternoon.
Dylan West led five players in double figures with 16 points while
Victor Nwagbaraocha added 15 and
Isaiah Fuller,
Drew Cisse and
Janeir Harris had 12 points each.
UMSL held the Rangers to 19 percent shooting in the first 20 minutes as it built up a 15-point halftime lead. Parkside got as close as nine points in the second half before the Tritons put it away.
UMSL is averaging 78 points per game this season and giving up just 61.8 points per contest. It's the best shooting team in the GLVC at 52.2 percent which includes 41.3 percent from three, also tops in the league, and is second in free throw percentage at 77.6 percent.
Fuller leads the team in scoring at 14.7 points per outing while Nwagbaraocha and
Bowen Sandquist are averaging 10.8 and 10.6 points per game respectively. Fuller also leads the Tritons in rebounding with 4.2 boards per contest and has 20 steals.
Donovan Vickers has a team best 49 assists on the season.
About Rockhurst – The Hawks enter Thursday's game with a record of 7-5, 2-2 GLVC and have won three straight. Rockhurst has been tough at home this season going 5-0 and is averaging 81.6 points per game as opposed to its 2-5 record on the road where it's averaging 66.3 points per contest.
Rich Byhre leads the team and the GLVC with 18.6 and 10.3 rebounds per game. He scored 35 points in the Hawks 75-71 win over William Woods last Friday. Jake Auer is adding 10.8 points per contest while Timaris Brown is at 9.5 points per outing. Jihad Thornton has a team-high 29 assists while Auer leads the squad with 19 steals.
Series History – UMSL leads the all-time series against the Hawks 25-22 and has won four of the last six meetings. The two teams split last season with Rockhurst winning 68-67 in Kansas City and the Tritons won 93-72 at the Mark Twain Building.
About Maryville – The Saints enter Thursday's contest at Missouri S&T with a record of 10-3, 3-2 GLVC and are in a three-way tie for fourth along with Indianapolis and William Jewell. Maryville defeated Eureka 82-67 in its first game back from break last Friday.
The Saints are averaging 74.2 points per contest but giving up 69.8 points per game. They're shooting 46 percent from the floor, 36 percent from three and 66 percent at the foul line. Maryville is outrebounding its opposition by 1.4 rebounds per game.
Ben Palacios leads the team in scoring with 13.8 points per outing and is joined in double figures by Kelvin Swims, Ari Jackson and Dewayne Vass with 13 points, 10.9 points and 10.1 points respectively. JT Morgan is the team's leading rebounder with 7.4 per contest. Swims has handed out a team-high 59 steals and Jackson has 13 steals.
Series History – UMSL leads the all-time series against Maryville 24-6 and has won six straight. Last season, the Tritons swept the Saints 76-62 at the Mark Twain Building and 58-50 at Maryville.
