Owensboro, Ky. —The University of Missouri-St. Louis men's basketball team lost its season opener at Kentucky Wesleyan 86-63 on Monday evening at the Owensboro Sportscenter in Owensboro, Ky. The Tritons are 0-1 while the Panthers are 1-0.
Rashad Smith opened the scoring for UMSL with a dunk, combining with
Jake Hamilton to produce the first six points for the Tritons. Five minutes in,
Makeer Makeer tied the game at nine with a three-point make.
But Kentucky Wesleyan had answers from the three-point line, using back to back makes to extend their lead to seven-points with ten minutes remaining in the first half. UMSL pulled the score back with a combination of free-throw shooting and layups.
Colby Dolphin hit the closing basket to send UMSL into the locker room trailing 32-28.
The first four minutes of the second half saw the Tritons and Panthers trade layups before Makeer made a three-point shot to bring UMSL within two. Both teams continued to trade layups but free throw shooting allowed Kentucky Wesleyan to stay ahead.
Miles Boland tied the game at 48 with ten minutes to go, making a three-pointer less than a minute later to put the Tritons ahead.
But the Panthers answered with a ten-point run which proved to be a gap UMSL couldn't quite close. In the final five minutes, the Tritons were outscored 17-5.
The Tritons shot 42.3 percent (22-for-52) from the field, including 3-of-21 from three and 70 percent from the free throw line. Boland led UMSL with 15 points, seven assists, and one steal. Smith had 11 points and three rebounds while Hamilton had 10 points and six rebounds.
Kentucky Wesleyan shot 61.4 percent (27-for-44) from the field, was 12-of-20 from three, and shot 74 percent at the free throw line. Logan McIntire had 20 points, three rebounds, two assists for the Panthers while Ke'Andre Jones had twenty points, seven rebounds, one block, and one steal.
UMSL continues its road trip on Friday (Nov. 13) against Northern Michigan at the JustAGame Crossover in Wisconsin Dells at 1 p.m.
