ST. LOUIS – The University of Missouri-St. Louis men's basketball team overcame a 12-point first half deficit to defeat Illinois Springfield 74-66 at the Mark Twain Building on Thursday evening. The Tritons move to 10-9, 8-4 GLVC while the Prairie Stars fall to 10-10, 5-7 GLVC.

The two sides traded baskets early with UIS holding a 9-8 lead four minutes in before going on an 11-0 run to extend its lead to 12. Max Kunnert hit a pair of threes in the run while Britton Dutton and Jack Weber combined for the other five points.

UMSL fought back thanks to a 12-4 run to draw within four after a layup from Emanuel Prospere II but the Prairie Stars countered with a 7-2 run to stretch its lead back to nine on a jumper from Kunnert.

The Tritons continued chipping away pulling to within 35-30 after a jumper from Quenton Parker with 2:20 left in the half.

Weber put UIS back up seven but UMSL scored the final five points of the half to cut the deficit to two at the break.

The Prairie Stars started out on fire hitting 10 of their first 12 shots from the floor including four treys but were just 5-of-14 for the remainder of the half. The Tritons had no answer for Kunnert and Weber as the duo combined for 29 of the team's 37 points.

UMSL missed nine of its first 14 shots from the field but rallied over the final 11:41 of the half hitting 11 of its next 16 shots. Prospere led the way with nine points while Matt Enright added eight and Savon Wykle and Janeir Harris six points each.

The Tritons carried that momentum into the second half outscoring UIS 17-8 over the first 10 minutes to grab a 52-45 lead after two free throws from Troy Glover II.

The Prairie Stars wouldn't go away but never retook the lead as every time they got close UMSL would surge back ahead.

The Tritons clung to a one-point lead when Prospere hit a straight away three from the top of the arc with less than three minutes to play to put UMSL up 65-61. After a couple of stops, Enright buried a three with the shot clock winding down to give the Tritons a seven-point lead with 74 seconds to go.

UIS cut it to four on the ensuing possession as Weber scored on a tip-in and was fouled by Prospere. He hit the free throw to complete the three-point play.
Forced to foul, the Prairie Stars sent UMSL to the line three different times in the final 49 seconds and the Tritons hit all six free throws to secure the victory.

UMSL finished the game shooting 51 percent (28-for-55) from the field, was 5-of-18 from three and shot 77 percent (13-for-17) at the charity stripe. Enright led the Tritons with 23 points while Prospere added 19 points and six rebounds and Harris finished with 11 points. UMSL doubled up UIS 32-to-16 in the paint.

After their hot start the Prairie Stars finished shooting 51 percent (25-for-49) from the field including 7-of-17 from three and shot 75 percent (9-for-12) at the foul line. Kunnert led all scorers with 24 points, only five in the second half, while Weber added 17 and Dutton finished with 10.

The Tritons wrap up their two-game homestand on Saturday hosting McKendree at 3 p.m. at the Mark Twain Building. Saturday's game is also Alumni Day at UMSL.