ST. LOUIS – The University of Missouri-St. Louis men's basketball team picked up its fourth straight win on Wednesday defeating Kentucky Wesleyan 72-61 on Chuck Smith Court at the Mark Twain Building.  The Tritons improve to 4-2 while the Panthers fall to 4-2.

UMSL opened the game with six straight points from Vincent Davis III but KWC got hot from three as Lavonte Harris and Armandas Plintauskas combined for four three's allowing the Panthers to take their first lead at 13-11.

KWC led by as many as four with 6:20 left in the opening half but UMSL rallied thanks to a 16-9 run to grab a 36-33 lead with 1:01 left in the frame. Quenton Parker had six points in the run and Jake Hamilton and Miles Boland added three points apiece.

Plintauskas hit his third trey of the half to the game at 36 heading into the break.

Both offensives shot in the ball well in the first 20 minutes as the Tritons shot 56 percent from the floor while the Panthers connected on 54 percent of their attempts.

Harris and Plintaukas combined for 22 of KWC's 36 points in the stanza while UMSL was led by Davis III with eight points and Parker dropped home six points.

The Panthers opened the second half on a 5-2 run to take its last lead of the contest on a layup from Plintauskas at the 17:22 mark.

The Tritons countered with six straight of their own to retake the lead but a three from Plintauskas tied it at 44. Hamilton gave UMSL the lead for good with layup with 15:17 to go sparking a 6-0 run for the Tritons.

Kentucky Wesleyan cut the margin to one five minutes later but UMSL held the lead pushing it out to nine after a Parker three with 4:15 left. The Tritons lead grew to as much as 13 points in the final minute on a pull up jumper from Taye Moore.

UMSL finished the contest shooting 47 percent (27-for-57) from the field, including 8-of-20 from three and shot 63 percent at the foul line. It forced 20 Panther turnovers resulting in a 19-2 advantage in points off turnovers. The Tritons also had 15 assists on their 27 makes.

Davis III led four UMSL players in double figures with 14 points and eight rebounds. Parker added 13, Moore finished with 12 and Jayden Creighton dropped in 11. Moore finished with five assists and Parker added six steals.

KWC was held to 44 percent (22-for-50) shooting from the floor, was 11-for-21 from three but shot 50 percent at the foul line. It outrebounded the Tritons 34-to-33. Plintauskas led all scorers with a game-high 21 points while Harris added 11.

UMSL concludes its three-game homestand on Saturday as it opens Great Lakes Valley Conference play hosting Illinois Springfield at 3:15 p.m.