Sophomore Matt Enright scored 19 points in UMSL’s win on Saturday. (Photo: Thomas Grove)
| NCAA Men’s Basketball | 1 | 2 | Final |
|---|---|---|---|
| UMSL (11-14, 9-8) | 43 | 27 | 70 |
| Southwest Baptist (6-18, 2-14) | 27 | 28 | 55 |
Cedric Williams
Senior Editor
BOLIVAR, MO — The University of Missouri-St. Louis men’s basketball team led from start to finish and used a 21-4 run in the late stages of the first half to cruise to a 70-55 victory, Saturday afternoon against Southwest Baptist University at SBU’s Meyer Sports Center.
Three different UMSL players scored in double figures, led by sophomore guard Matt Enright, who had 19 points, four rebounds, and three assists. Fellow sophomore Troy Glover II had 18 points, seven rebounds, three blocks, and two steals.
Junior Georden Rogers came off the bench to play his most minutes all season and scored 13 points, which included three three-pointers. Other UMSL players who contributed included Sam Bledsoe, who had nine points (all on three-pointers), and Terrell Kabala, who scored just three points, but added four rebounds and a game-high six assists.
The Tritons scored the first five points of the game and never trailed. The closest the Bearcats got was within a point, midway through the first half, following a three-pointer. The score then was 19-18.
After that, UMSL took flight and outscored SBU, 21-4 over the next seven minutes to go ahead 40-22. The Tritons led 43-27 at halftime.
UMSL began the second half with an 11-3 run to go up by 24 points. From that point on, the closest SBU would get would be 15 points, which is how many points the Bearcats lost by.
The win lifted UMSL’s record to 11-14 and 9-8 in Great Lakes Valley Conference play. SBU fell to 6-18 and 2-14.
Coupled with other action around the league, the Tritons are now tied with McKendree and Illinois-Springfield for sixth place in the GLVC standings.
UMSL and McKendree (15-9, 9-8) will play a huge game next Saturday, at McKendree. That contest could go a long way into determining who qualifies for the GLVC Tournament.
Currently, both teams and Illinois-Springfield are among the top eight in the standings and would qualify for the GLVC Tournament. But Rockhurst and Missouri S&T are both lurking and could slip past whoever was to lose that game next Saturday at Harry Statham Court in Lebanon, Ill.
That matchup will also be UMSL’s final road game of the regular season. The Tritons will close the regular season with games against first place Indianapolis and fifth-place Lewis on February 29 and March 2, respectively.
UMSL 70
| ## | Player | GS | MIN | FG | 3PT | FT | ORB-DRB | REB | PF | A | TO | BLK | STL | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 03 | Enright, Matt | * | 38 | 6-14 | 3-8 | 4-5 | 1-3 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 19 |
| 35 | Glover II, Troy | * | 32 | 7-12 | 0-0 | 4-5 | 0-7 | 7 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 18 |
| 20 | Wykle, Savon | * | 34 | 2-6 | 1-5 | 2-2 | 1-1 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 7 |
| 21 | Kabala, Terrell | * | 37 | 1-5 | 1-5 | 0-0 | 0-4 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 3 |
| 15 | Quartlebaum, Mayson | * | 7 | 0-2 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 13 | Rogers, Georden | 19 | 4-9 | 3-6 | 2-2 | 2-3 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 13 | |
| 04 | Bledsoe, Sam | 22 | 3-4 | 3-4 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | |
| 05 | O’Neal II, Kris | 6 | 0-1 | 0-0 | 1-2 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
| 02 | Meeks, Christian | 5 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| TM | TEAM | 0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Totals | – | 200 | 23-53 | 11-28 | 13-16 | 4-20 | 24 | 10 | 14 | 5 | 4 | 6 | 70 |
Southwest Baptist 55
| ## | Player | GS | MIN | FG | 3PT | FT | ORB-DRB | REB | PF | A | TO | BLK | STL | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11 | Dinkins,Drenin | * | 32 | 8-16 | 2-6 | 5-6 | 0-4 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 23 |
| 33 | Glushkov,Sasha | * | 31 | 7-11 | 2-3 | 0-0 | 2-8 | 10 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 16 |
| 00 | McMillin,Drew | * | 30 | 1-7 | 0-2 | 0-0 | 0-2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 15 | Hector,David | * | 26 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 2-2 | 2-2 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 01 | Abushanab,Jerry | * | 18 | 0-2 | 0-1 | 0-0 | 0-2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 20 | Stone,Ayden | 18 | 2-3 | 0-0 | 2-2 | 0-3 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | |
| 04 | Crawford,Bayley | 15 | 1-1 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | |
| 05 | Franklin,Noah | 14 | 1-4 | 0-1 | 0-0 | 1-3 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | |
| 21 | Stevenson,Ryan | 8 | 1-5 | 0-3 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | |
| 12 | Eckles,Branden | 5 | 0-1 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 22 | Smith,Brett | 2 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 24 | Franklin,Tyler | 1 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| TM | TEAM | 0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 2-1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Totals | – | 200 | 21-50 | 4-16 | 9-10 | 7-28 | 35 | 11 | 5 | 14 | 3 | 0 | 55 |
UMSL TRITONS 2023-24 MEN’S BASKETBALL SCHEDULE
| Date | Gametime | At | Opponent | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| February 24, 2024 (Saturday) | 3 p.m. | Away | McKendree | Lebanon, Ill. / Harry Statham Court |
| February 29, 2024 (Thursday) | 7:30 p.m. | Home | Indianapolis | Mark Twain Building |
| March 2, 2024 (Saturday) | 3 p.m. | Home | Lewis | Mark Twain Building |
| March 7-10, 2024 (Thursday) | TBA | Neutral | GLVC Tournament | St. Charles, Mo. / Hyland Arena |