Emanuel Prospere led UMSL with 21 points and 10 rebounds in its win over Upper Iowa on Friday. (Photo: Thomas Grove)
| NCAA Men’s Basketball | 1 | 2 | Final |
|---|---|---|---|
| UMSL (6-6, 4-1) | 36 | 39 | 75 |
| Upper Iowa (8-4, 2-2) | 29 | 44 | 73 |
DeMarcus Dixon
Staff Writer
FAYETTE, IA — The University of Missouri-St. Louis men’s basketball team held off a late rally to defeat the Upper Iowa University, 75-73, Friday evening at UIU’s Dorman Gymnasium.
The win was UMSL’s third in a row and improved the team’s overall record to 6-6. The Tritons are also now 4-1 in Great Lakes Valley Conference play. Upper Iowa is 8-4 overall and 2-2 in the conference.
On Friday, UMSL led the entire first half and went into halftime with a 36-29 lead. Upper Iowa took control early in the second half and grabbed its first lead, at 41-40, five minutes in.
The Peacocks led by as many as five points, before the Tritons rallied to re-take the lead at 51-50 with 10:32 left.
The teams traded the lead several times in the final 10 minutes before UMSL took the lead for good with just under five minutes left.
The Tritons even pushed their lead to as many as six points with under two minutes to go, but Upper Iowa refused to quit. The Peacocks made five straight free throws to get within a point.
Then after UMSL’s Matt Enright made two free throws to put the Tritons back up by three, Upper Iowa’s Gavin Hershberger made two free throws of his own to make the score 74-73 with six seconds left.
Then, on the ensuing inbounds play, Upper Iowa stole the ball and had a chance to take the lead, but big man Kyle Hrncir committed an offensive foul while trying to set a screen.
That sent UMSL’s Janeir Harris to the free throw line, where he made one-of-two, to put the Tritons up by two points with three seconds to go. Upper Iowa got the ball inbounded, but wasn’t able to get a shot off before the clock ran out, which cinched the win for UMSL.
Senior forward Emanuel Prospere II led UMSL with 21 points, 10 rebounds, and five assists. Enright added 16 points, including four three-pointers, while teammates Savon Wykle, Harris, and Iziah Purvey chipped in 12 points, 11 points, and 11 points, respectively.
Upper Iowa standout Nick Reid led all scorers with 33 points and added 12 rebounds as well.
UMSL’s next contest will be Thursday, January 9, when the Tritons will host Southwest Baptist in a GLVC game at the Mark Twain Building. Tip off is set for 7:30 p.m.
UMSL 75
| ## | Player | GS | MIN | FG | 3PT | FT | ORB-DRB | REB | PF | A | TO | BLK | STL | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12 | Prospere II, Emanuel | * | 35 | 9-16 | 1-2 | 2-2 | 3-7 | 10 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 21 |
| 03 | Enright, Matt | * | 38 | 5-13 | 4-10 | 2-2 | 0-5 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 16 |
| 20 | Wykle, Savon | * | 37 | 4-10 | 1-3 | 3-3 | 0-6 | 6 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 12 |
| 04 | Udolisa, KC | * | 17 | 2-4 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 3-1 | 4 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 4 |
| 35 | Glover II, Troy | * | 17 | 0-3 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 1-1 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| 10 | Harris, Janeir | 32 | 4-10 | 0-2 | 3-6 | 1-3 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 11 | |
| 23 | Purvey, Iziah | 22 | 5-10 | 0-0 | 1-1 | 3-4 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 11 | |
| 22 | Chartrand, Ethan | 2 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| TM | TEAM | 0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 1-2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Totals | – | 200 | 29-66 | 6-17 | 11-14 | 12-29 | 41 | 20 | 13 | 13 | 6 | 9 | 75 |
Upper Iowa 73
| ## | Player | GS | MIN | FG | 3PT | FT | ORB-DRB | REB | PF | A | TO | BLK | STL | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 03 | Reid,Nick | * | 32 | 9-21 | 5-9 | 10-12 | 4-8 | 12 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 33 |
| 04 | Hrncir,Kyle | * | 36 | 3-10 | 1-3 | 1-2 | 5-6 | 11 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 8 |
| 08 | Hershberger,Gavin | * | 23 | 2-11 | 2-7 | 2-2 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 8 |
| 12 | Delzell,Caleb | * | 31 | 1-5 | 0-1 | 0-0 | 0-5 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 2 |
| 22 | Hilmer,Austin | * | 18 | 0-2 | 0-2 | 0-0 | 2-1 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 25 | Heise,Ryan | 27 | 4-7 | 2-4 | 3-4 | 1-3 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 13 | |
| 14 | Kiburis,William | 20 | 3-4 | 1-1 | 0-0 | 1-1 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 7 | |
| 00 | Miller,Jack | 13 | 1-4 | 0-2 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | |
| TM | TEAM | 0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 2-2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Totals | – | 200 | 23-64 | 11-29 | 16-20 | 15-26 | 41 | 15 | 13 | 15 | 8 | 7 | 73 |
2024-25 UMSL TRITONS MEN’S BASKETBALL SCHEDULE
| Date | Time | At | Opponent | Location | Results/W-L |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| November 8, 2024 (Friday) | 2 p.m. | Neutral | Michigan Tech | Wisconsin Dells, Wis. | L 72-57 (0-1) |
| November 9, 2024 (Saturday) | 7 p.m. | Neutral | Northern Michigan | Wisconsin Dells, Wis. | L 77-63 (0-2) |
| November 13, 2024 (Wednesday) | 6 p.m. | Home | Winona State | Mark Twain Building | W 72-62 (0-3) |
| November 21, 2024 (Thursday) | 5:30 p.m. | Neutral | Alabama – Huntsville | Lebanon, Ill. | L 74-63 (0-4) |
| November 22, 2024 (Friday) | 5:30 p.m. | Neutral | Lake Superior State | Lebanon, Ill. | L 59-46 (0-5) |
| November 30, 2024 (Saturday) | 3 p.m. | Away | Illinois-Springfield | Springfield, Ill. | W 69-64 (1-5) |
| December 2, 2024 (Monday) | 7:30 p.m. | Home | Maryville | Mark Twain Building | W 83-53 (2-5) |
| December 5, 2024 (Thursday) | 7:30 p.m. | Home | UIndy | Mark Twain Building | W 66-59 (3-5) |
| December 7, 2024 (Saturday) | 3 p.m. | Home | Lewis | Mark Twain Building | L 81-61 (3-6) |
| December 17, 2024 (Tuesday) | 3 p.m. | Neutral | Pittsburg State | San Antonio, Texas | W 62-58 (4-6) |
| December 18, 2024 (Wednesday) | 1 p.m. | Neutral | Rogers State | San Antonio, Texas | W 67-57 (5-6) |
| January 3, 2025 (Friday) | 7:30 p.m. | Away | Upper Iowa | Fayette, Iowa | W 75-73 (6-6) |
| January 5, 2025 (Sunday) | 3 p.m. | Away | Quincy | Quincy, Ill. | postponed |
| January 9, 2025 (Thursday) | 7:30 p.m. | Home | Southwest Baptist | Mark Twain Building | |
| January 11, 2025 (Saturday) | 3 p.m. | Home | Rockhurst | Mark Twain Building | |
| January 16, 2025 (Thursday) | 7:30 p.m. | Away | Lincoln | Jefferson City, Mo. | |
| January 18, 2025 (Saturday) | 3 p.m. | Away | Missouri S&T | Rolla, Mo. | |
| January 20, 2025 (Monday) | 6 p.m. | Away | Quincy | Quincy, Ill. | |
| January 23, 2025 (Thursday) | 7:30 p.m. | Away | Maryville | St. Louis, Mo. | |
| January 30, 2025 (Thursday) | 7:30 p.m. | Home | Illinois-Springfield | Mark Twain Building | |
| February 1, 2025 (Saturday) | 3 p.m. | Home | McKendree | Mark Twain Building | |
| February 6, 2025 (Thursday) | 7:30 p.m. | Away | Lewis | Romeoville, Ill. | |
| February 8, 2025 (Saturday) | 2:30 p.m. | Away | UIndy | Indianapolis, Ind. | |
| February 13, 2025 (Thursday) | 7:30 p.m. | Home | Quincy | Mark Twain Building | |
| February 15, 2025 (Saturday) | 3 p.m. | Home | Upper Iowa | Mark Twain Building | |
| February 20, 2025 (Thursday) | 7:30 p.m. | Away | William Jewell | Liberty, Mo. | |
| February 22, 2025 (Saturday) | 3 p.m. | Away | Truman State | Kirksville, Mo. | |
| February 27, 2025 (Thursday) | 7:30 p.m. | Home | Drury | Mark Twain Building | |
| March 6-9, 2025 | TBD | Neutral | GLVC Tournament | St. Charles, Mo. / Hyland Arena |