LIBERTY, Mo. – The University of Missouri-St. Louis men's basketball team hung on for a 78-77 win over William Jewell on Thursday evening at the Mabee Center in Liberty, Mo. The Tritons pick up their fifth straight win to move to 15-10, 13-5 GLVC while the Cardinals drop to 10-15, 7-10 GLVC and it was their fourth defeat by one point this season.

UMSL picks up its 10th straight win in the series against William Jewell with seven of those wins being decided by less than six points.

The first half was an offensive clinic from both teams as they combined to shoot an impressive 64 percent (37-for-58) from the field including 14-of-22 from three.

The Tritons led by as many as seven early as they got off to a fast start making eight of its first 11 shots but the Cardinals matched them making seven of their first 10.

WJC used an 8-0 run over a span of two minutes to turn a four-point deficit into a four-point lead to take its first lead of the game. That lead grew to as many as six late in the half after a dunk from Jason Thirdkill Jr., with 4:07 to go in the stanza.

The lead was still six with less than two minutes to play but UMSL closed the half strong with a 7-2 run to pull within 48-47 at the break after two Matt Enright free throws.

The first half was a showdown between Thirdkill and Emanuel Prospere II as each had 16 points in the half.

The Tritons began the second half on a 7-2 run to retake the lead as Troy Glover II had a layup and a dunk to start the half. The Cardinals tied the game at 54 after a pull up jumper from Bradley Lightbourne but that would be the last tie of the contest.

UMSL took the lead for good on a driving layup from Prospere II and extended that lead to seven with less than four minutes to play on a three-pointer from Savon Wykle.

The Tritons appeared to be in control but went the final four minutes of the contest without scoring opening the door for Jewell. Kyle Scharbrough and Luke Jordan hit back-to-back shots to bring the Cardinals within three with 2:03 left.

UMSL had three shots to extend the lead in the span of 0:40 seconds but couldn't get a shot to fall.

Thirdkill scored on a driving layup with 1:01 remaining to make it a one-point game.

The Tritons ran nearly 40 seconds off the clock but Enright missed a driving layup with 23.1 seconds to play. After a review, UMSL kept possession of the ball but Prospere missed the front end of a 1-and-1. Glover got the rebound but his pass out went into the backcourt for an over-and-back giving the ball back to Jewell with 0:11 left.

The Cardinals got the ball into the hands of their best player in Jordan Jermain. He drove into the lane but was forced to take a tough contested pull up jumper just inside the free throw line that was off the mark.

Glover got the rebound and was fouled with 1.2 seconds remaining. He had a chance to ice the game at the free throw line but couldn't convert the front end of a 1-and-1 one and Jewell got the rebound.

The Cardinals had one final chance but Thirdkill's shot from just inside half court at the buzzer was long allowing UMSL to hold on for the victory.

The Tritons had four players reach double figures in scoring in the contest. Prospere led the way with an UMSL career-high of 27 points while Glover matched his season-high with 17 points and grabbed a career-high 16 rebounds. Enright and Wykle finished with 12 and 10 points respectively.

The Tritons shot 55 percent (30-for-55) from the field in the contest including 9-of-20 from three but shot only 60 percent at the foul line. They outrebounded Jewell by a 34-to-24 margin.

Thirdkill matched Prospere for game-high honors in scoring with 27 points and added 10 rebounds. He was joined in double figures by Jordan, Jermain and Lightbourne with 13 points each while Scharbrough added 11 more.

The Cardinals finished the game shooting 53 percent (30-for-57) from the floor, were 9-of-21 from three and shot 61 percent at the free throw line.

UMSL plays its final road game of the regular season on Sunday as it travels to Kirksville, Mo., to take on Truman State at 3 p.m. from Pershing Arena.