The UMSL Tritons won its last two games and will look to make it three in a row, Saturday against McKendree. (Photo: Primo Greenway)

Jason Barnes
Staff Writer

NORMANDY, MO — The University of Missouri-St. Louis men’s basketball team will go for its third straight win, Saturday afternoon, when it hosts local rival McKendree University in a key Great Lakes Valley Conference game at the Mark Twain Building.

UMSL (7-7, 5-1 GLVC) went 2-0 last week, picking up a 70-62 road win over crosstown rival Maryville and then got a balanced scoring effort with five players reaching double figures led by Emanuel Prospere II with 20 points in an 81-67 home win over Truman State this past Saturday.

UMSL shot nearly 50 percent from the floor in its two wins last week including 15-of-39 from three and dominated on the glass outrebounding its opponents by 13 rebounds per game.

Matt Enright led the way for the Tritons with 15.5 points per game while Savon Wykle added 13 points per outing, Prospere II chipped in with 12.5 points per contest, Troy Glover II had 12.5 points and 9.5 rebounds per game and Terrell Kabala contributed 10 points per game.

For the season, Enright continues to lead the team in scoring with 13.1 points per contest, assists (48) and steals (18). Prospere II is second at 11.4 points per outing while Kabala and Mayson Quartlebaum are just outside of double figures at 9.9 points per game. Glover II leads the team with 6.6 rebounds per contest and has blocked 20 shots.

About McKendree — The Bearcats enter Saturday’s game with a record of 9-4 including 3-3 in the GLVC. They snapped a three-game conference losing streak with a 71-63 win at Missouri S&T last Saturday. Milos Vicentic led McKendree with 19 points and was joined in double figures by Carson Parker and Caleb Zurliene with 17 and 12 points respectively.

Vicentic leads the Bearcats and is second in the GLVC in scoring at 22.8 points per game this season. Zurliene is 12th in the league in scoring at 14.5 points per contest. Parker leads the team and is tied for second in the conference with 7.2 rebounds per outing. He also leads the team with 35 assists while Zurliene leads the conference with 40 blocked shots.

Series History — UMSL and McKendree met four times last season winning on each other’s home court. The Tritons defeated the Bearcats by 10 in the first meeting at McKendree. The Bearcats returned the favor defeating UMSL by four in the regular season finale at UMSL. The two teams met for the GLVC Championship with McKendree coming out on top 62-51. They met again nine days later for the Midwest Regional Championship at UIndy with the Tritons prevailing 62-60 to win the region title and advance to the Elite Eight.

UMSL TRITONS 2023-24 MEN’S BASKETBALL SCHEDULE