ST. LOUIS – The University of Missouri-St. Louis men's basketball team dropped its second straight to open the season with a 77-63 loss to Northern Michigan in the Just A Game Classic at the Just A Game Fieldhouse in Wisconsin Dells, Wis., on Saturday evening.

The Tritons got off to another good start building an early seven-point lead but the Wildcats (2-0) used a 19-4 run over a 6:30 stretch to take the lead for good. They led by as many as eight but UMSL fought back to within 33-32 near the end of the half on a layup from KC Udolisa but a three-pointer by Sam Privet just before the buzzer sent the teams to the locker room at the half with NMU leading 36-32.

The Tritons pulled back to within on one on their first possession of the second as Matt Enright was fouled on a three-point shot and made all free throws. That would be as close as UMSL got the rest of the game as the Wildcats scored eight in a row to extend its lead to nine and it wouldn't dip below seven points the rest of the way.

NMU led by as many as 17 in the contest before Janeir Harris hit a three in the closing seconds for the final margin.

The Wildcats were efficient from the three-point line knocking down 9-of-18 attempts while the Tritons were held to just 28 percent (5-for-18) from beyond the arc.

Emanuel Prospere II led all scorers with 16 points and five assists in the contest while Enright and Harris added 12 and 11 points respectively. Harris pulled down eight rebounds while Savon Wykle and Troy Glover II had three blocked shots apiece.

Julien Smith led Northern Michigan with 15 points. He was joined in double figures by Brian Parzych and Biggie Luster with 13 and 11 points respectively. Dylan Kuehl had a game-high 11 rebounds.

UMSL returns to the court next Wednesday (Nov. 13) as it hosts Winona State in its home opener at 6 p.m. at the Mark Twain Building.