ST. LOUIS – The University of Missouri-St. Louis men's basketball looks to continue its ascension up the Great Lakes Valley Conference standings with two tough tests on the horizon this week. The Tritons head to Lebanon, Ill., on Thursday to take on McKendree at 7:30 p.m. and then will travel to Illinois Springfield on Saturday to take on the Prairie Stars at 3 p.m.
UMSL enters Thursday's contest with a record of 12-8 overall including 6-5 in the GLVC and will have that opportunity to move up as four of its next five opponents are ahead of them in the standings. Illinois Springfield is atop the standings with a mark of 8-2 but is just a half game ahead of Missouri S&T in second at 7-2. McKendree, Rockhurst, Upper Iowa and William Jewell are in a four-way tie for third at 8-3 with UIndy sitting in seventh place at 7-4.
The Tritons hold the eighth spot in the standings but are just a half game ahead of Truman State for the final spot in the GLVC Tournament. Southwest Baptist and Drury are tied for 10th at 4-7.
UMSL picked up its second straight win last Saturday as it defeated Maryville 99-72 at the Mark Twain Building last Saturday.
Taye Moore and
Vincent Davis III led the way with 16 points apiece in the contest.
Moore continues to lead the Tritons in scoring this season averaging 14.9 points per game. He's joined in double figures by
Jake Hamilton with 11.4 points per outing while Davis and
Makeer Makeer are averaging 10.9 and 10.4 points per outing respectively.
Davis, Hamilton and
Demetris Phillips are each averaging over five rebounds per game to lead the team.
Miles Boland continues to lead the squad in assists with 97 and steals with 37. As a team, UMSL is fourth in the GLVC with 8.85 steals per game.
About McKendree – The Bearcats were receiving votes in last week's National Association of Basketball Coaches Association Top 25 poll and are 15-5 on the season including 8-3 in the GLVC and have won four straight. They went on the road last weekend defeating ninth ranked Missouri S&T 70-59 and Lincoln 60-48.
McKendree is led in scoring by Cha'Vez Woods at 15.3 points per contest. He is joined in double figures by Rini Harris, Noah Franklin and Andrew Franklin who are averaging 13.4, 11.8 and 10.6 points per game respectively. Franklin and Harris are the team's top two rebounders with 6.5 and 6.1 boards per outing. Harris leads the team with 48 assists, 29 steals and 18 blocked shots.
The Bearcats are ranked second in Division II in field goal percentage defense holding opposing teams to a 36.8 field goal percentage and are fourth in scoring defense giving up 60.9 points per contest.
About Illinois Springfield – The Prairie Stars enter Thursday's game against Lincoln at 12-6 overall and have won back-to-back contests. UIS defeated Drury 87-72 last Thursday in Springfield, Mo.
Saturday's contest will feature the top two three-point shooting teams in the conference this season with the Prairie Stars shooting 40.1 percent from downtown while the Tritons are shooting it at 37.8 percent clip from beyond the arc.
Jordan Rice leads UIS in scoring this season with 17.1 points per game while Isaiah Davis and Tye Banks are contributing 13.6 and 11.9 points per contest respectively. Alex Stell leads the team in rebounds with 8.3 per outing.
