Senior guard Isaiah Fuller (11) scored 16 points to lead the UMSL Tritons to a 70-65 win over Southwest Baptist, Monday night. (Photo: Thomas Grove)
| Team | 1 | 2 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| #24 UMSL (6-0, 1-0) | 34 | 36 | 70 |
| #22 Southwest Baptist (5-1, 1-1) | 29 | 36 | 65 |
Cedric Williams
Senior Editor
BOLIVAR, MO — In a showdown of Top 25 NCAA Division II men’s basketball teams, No. 24-ranked University of Missouri-St. Louis outlasted No. 22 Southwest Baptist for a 70-65 win, Monday evening at SBU’s John Q. Hammons Arena.
The visiting Tritons never trailed at any point in the game, and led by as many as 10 points in the first half, before going into halftime with a 34-29 lead. The host Bearcats pulled within in two, early in the second half, but UMSL responded with an 11-3 run to push its edge to 10 points with just under 16 minutes left in the game.
The teams traded baskets for the next few minutes, before a three-pointer and a smooth-cut layup gave the Tritons their biggest lead of the night at 54-42 with 9:35 to play.
SBU answered with a 12-0 run, which included two layups and two three-pointers to tie the score 54-54 at the 4:35 mark. Both teams scored on layups on their next possessions to send the game into the final three minutes tied at 56.
But just as it seemed it might wilt, UMSL responded with some of its best ball of the night.
Senior guard Isaiah Fuller, who finished the night with a team-high 16 points, made two clutch free throws to give the Tritons the lead. Then, sophomore Donovan Vickers added a three-pointer, and junior Dylan West added another layup for a quick 7-0 run that gave the Tritons a 63-56 lead with 1:49 to go.
That seemed like it might be enough to clinch the win, but the Bearcats continued to fight back, and managed to pull within two points with less than a minute to go. The home team even had a shot to take the lead, when UMSL missed three straight one-and-one free throws that could’ve iced the game.
The third miss came with less than 30 seconds left and led to a three-point attempt by SBU’s Quinn Nelson that could’ve given the Bearcats the lead. But the shot clanged off the rim, and was rebounded by UMSL’s Trever Moore, who made a free throw to put the Tritons up by three with 5.9 seconds left.
SBU still had a chance to tie, but UMSL fouled Nelson before he could attempt another three, forcing him to take free throws that could at best only pull the Bearcats to within one.
Nelson made the first free throw, then missed the second one on purpose to try to grab the rebound and possibly score a basket that would tie the game.
But the Tritons denied that and then sank four free throws in the final two seconds to put the game away.
Fuller hit the first two, and teammate Mayson Quartlebaum, who had 10 points and six rebounds, hit the final two to send UMSL home with its victory.
The Tritons are now 6-0 on the season, and with the win, earned their first Great Lakes Valley Conference win of the year. They’ll be looking to extend both those win streaks when they get back on the court Thursday, December 1, with a game against Drury.
That contest will be played at the Mark Twain Building and is scheduled to tip off at 7:30 p.m., following a game between the UMSL & Drury women’s teams, which is slated to begin at 5:30 p.m.
#24 Missouri-St. Louis 70
| ## | Player | GS | MIN | FG | 3PT | FT | ORB-DRB | REB | PF | A | TO | BLK | STL | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11 | Isaiah Fuller | * | 37 | 4-7 | 1-1 | 7-8 | 0-2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 16 |
| 15 | Mayson Quartlebaum | * | 22 | 3-9 | 1-3 | 3-3 | 1-5 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| 03 | Matt Enright | * | 34 | 3-8 | 2-6 | 0-1 | 0-6 | 6 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 8 |
| 32 | Victor Nwagbaraocha | * | 16 | 3-4 | 1-2 | 0-0 | 1-1 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 7 |
| 22 | Bowen Sandquist | * | 33 | 1-7 | 1-6 | 0-0 | 0-2 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| 12 | Dylan West | 17 | 5-5 | 0-0 | 2-2 | 1-3 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 12 | |
| 04 | Donovan Vickers | 20 | 3-5 | 2-4 | 0-1 | 0-0 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 8 | |
| 10 | Janeir Harris | 10 | 1-2 | 0-0 | 3-4 | 0-0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 | |
| 05 | Trever Moore | 11 | 0-2 | 0-1 | 1-2 | 0-2 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
| TM | TEAM | 0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Totals | – | 200 | 23-49 | 8-23 | 16-21 | 3-21 | 24 | 23 | 15 | 12 | 0 | 9 | 70 |
#22 Southwest Baptist 65
| ## | Player | GS | MIN | FG | 3PT | FT | ORB-DRB | REB | PF | A | TO | BLK | STL | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 15 | RJ Crawford | * | 35 | 5-11 | 3-4 | 6-8 | 2-5 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 19 |
| 10 | Mitch Ganote | * | 35 | 5-10 | 0-3 | 5-9 | 2-8 | 10 | 3 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 15 |
| 03 | Quinn Nelson | * | 35 | 4-9 | 2-5 | 2-2 | 1-3 | 4 | 5 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 12 |
| 04 | Bayley Crawford | * | 16 | 3-4 | 0-1 | 1-2 | 1-0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| 05 | Noah Franklin | * | 30 | 3-8 | 0-2 | 0-0 | 4-4 | 8 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| 11 | Drenin Dinkins | 26 | 0-4 | 0-2 | 5-6 | 0-1 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 | |
| 00 | Drew McMillin | 13 | 0-2 | 0-2 | 1-2 | 1-2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
| 01 | Jerry Abushanab | 10 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| TM | TEAM | 0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Totals | – | 200 | 20-48 | 5-19 | 20-29 | 11-24 | 35 | 20 | 10 | 17 | 1 | 3 | 65 |
| 2022 UMSL Tritons Upcoming Men’s Basketball Schedule |
| Thu., December 1 — vs. Drury* — 7:30 pm |
| Sat., December 3 — vs. Missouri S&T* — 3 pm |
| Sat., December 10 — vs. Lewis* — 3 pm |
| Sun., December 18 — vs. West Texas A&M in Las Vegas — 3:15 pm |
| Mon., December 19 — vs. Rollins in Las Vegas — 2:15 pm |
| Sat., December 31 — vs. Wisconsin-Parkside — 2 pm |
| * – Denotes Great Lakes Valley Conference game |
| All UMSL home games will be played at the Mark Twain Building |