ST. LOUIS – The University of Missouri-St. Louis men's basketball team heads to the road for a pair of conference matchups in the upcoming days that will include a game with the current co-leader in the GLVC standings.
The Tritons (8-11, 6-5 GLVC) will take on that co-leader, Upper Iowa (13-5, 8-2 GLVC), this Thursday at 7:30 p.m. at Dorman Memorial Gymnasium in Fayette, Iowa and then conclude the trip against Truman State (7-11, 4-6 GLVC) on Saturday afternoon at 3 p.m. at Pershing Arena in Kirksville, Mo.
UMSL currently sits sixth with 3.23 points in the GLVC's Point Ratings System (PRS) rankings that determines the eight teams that advance to the GLVC Tournament to be held March 7-10 at Hyland Arena on the campus of Lindenwood University in St. Charles, Mo.
Lewis and Upper Iowa are tied for the spot in the rankings with 3.85 points each while Indianapolis is third at 3.80 points and is followed by Illinois Springfield (3.36), William Jewell (3.32) and the Tritons. Truman State is in seventh place with 3.050 points while Rockhurst holds the final spot with 3.045 points.
UMSL got back in the win column holding off a furious late rally for a 78-75 win over Missouri S&T last Thursday but couldn't overcome an 11-point second half deficit in a 65-62 loss to Maryville on Saturday afternoon.
Mayson Quartlebaum led the way for the Tritons averaging 20.5 points per contest. He was joined in double figures by
Savon Wykle with 11.5 points per outing while
Matt Enright and
Kris O'Neal II averaged 11.0 and 10.0 points per game respectively.
Troy Glover II cleaned up on the glass with 9.5 rebounds per contest while O'Neal II led the team with six assists and Enright added four steals.
Quartlebaum and Enright lead UMSL in scoring with 12.4 points per game each and are joined in double figures by
Emanuel Prospere II with 10.3 points per game. Wykle and Glover II are contributing 9.5 and 9.4 points per game respectively. Glover II leads the team and the conference with his 7.7 rebounds per contest. Enright leads the squad with assists (63) and steals (22).
About Upper Iowa – The Peacocks enter Thursday's contest riding a five-game win streak, have won 10 of their last 11 overall and are 6-0 at home this season. Last weekend, UIU extended its win streak with a pair of double-digit road wins at William Jewell and Rockhurst.
Jake Hilmer, the team's and GLVC's leading scorer with 24.5 ppg, became the school's all-time leading scorer with his 31-point performance against the Cardinals last Thursday and has scored 2,217 points in his career. He's joined in double figures by Noah King and Nick Reid with 17.5 and 13.8 points per contest respectively. Reid leads the team in rebounding with 6.2 per outing while Hilmer leads the team with 83 assists and 33 steals.
About Truman State – The Bulldogs got off to a slow start in GLVC play dropping four of their first five contests, then won three straight before dropping their past two games at Rockhurst and William Jewell last weekend.
Kobi Williams and Trey Shearer lead the team in scoring with 12.3 and 11.6 points per game respectively while Xavier Hall is adding 9.5 points per game and leads the conference in assists with 94. Landon Eiland is the top rebounder on the team with 5.0 per outing.
Up Next – The Tritons return home next weekend to face Illinois Springfield and Quincy. They'll take on the Prairie Stars next Thursday at 7:30 p.m. and wrap up the homestand against the Hawks on Saturday afternoon at 3 p.m.
