UMSL’s Matt Enright scored 23 points and knocked down five three-pointers in the Tritons’ win over McKendree on Saturday. (Photo courtesy: UMSL Athletics)
| NCAA Men’s Basketball | 1 | 2 | Final |
|---|---|---|---|
| UMSL (12-14, 10-8) | 34 | 47 | 81 |
| McKendree (15-10, 9-9) | 30 | 39 | 69 |
Cedric Williams
Senior Editor
LEBANON, IL — With a little more than a week left in the NCAA Division II men’s basketball season, the University of Missouri-St. Louis Tritons went into Saturday’s game at rival McKendree University knowing it needed a win.
UMSL was clinging to one of the final eight spots in the upcoming Great Lakes Valley Conference Tournament and the Tritons knew if they were going to make the postseason, they had to have a win over the host Bearcats.
And thanks to some hot shooting and stout defense, UMSL was able to get the win it needed, in an 81-69 effort, Saturday afternoon at McKendree’s Harry Statham Sports Center.
The win lifted UMSL’s overall record to 12-14 and its GLVC mark to 10-8. More importantly though, winning on Saturday moved the Tritons from being tied for seventh place and holding the final GLVC Tournament spot all the way up to fifth place in the GLVC Postseason Point Rating System.
McKendree, which is 15-10 and 9-9, fell from sixth place to eighth and will go into the final week of the regular season needing victories to qualify for the postseason.
The difference in Saturday’s game was how well UMSL shot the ball and the difficulty it caused McKendree in its shooting. The Tritons shot 55 percent (32-of-58) on the day, which included nine three-pointers. McKendree shot 53 percent for the day, but only made 47 percent (14-of-30) of its shots in the first half.
UMSL led 34-30 at halftime.
The Bearcats were able to grab the lead twice, early in the second half. But the Tritons were able to take firm control when a 12-3 run gave the visitors a 53-45 lead midway through.
McKendree did get as close as two points a bit later, but a 14-5 UMSL run gave the Tritons a 73-62 lead with two minutes to go. From that point on, UMSL was able to make free throws and run out the clock on its way to its second straight victory.
Sophomore guard Matt Enright led all scorers with 23 points, on nine-of-18 shooting, which included five-of-10 made three-pointers. Teammates Savon Wykle and Troy Glover also had big days. Wykle made four three-pointers and scored 15 points, while Glover added 12 points and a game-high 11 rebounds.
Junior Emanuel Prospere came off the bench to score 17 points, grab six rebounds, and dish out five assists.
UMSL will now look to close out the regular season with a pair of home games next week at the Mark Twain Building.
On Thursday, the Tritons will host first place Indianapolis in a 7:30 p.m. contest. Then in the regular season finale next Saturday, UMSL will host Lewis in a 3 p.m. game.
UMSL 81
| ## | Player | GS | MIN | FG | 3PT | FT | ORB-DRB | REB | PF | A | TO | BLK | STL | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 03 | Enright, Matt | * | 40 | 9-18 | 5-10 | 0-0 | 0-1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 23 |
| 20 | Wykle, Savon | * | 34 | 5-8 | 4-7 | 1-1 | 2-3 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 15 |
| 35 | Glover II, Troy | * | 29 | 6-9 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 4-7 | 11 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 12 |
| 21 | Kabala, Terrell | * | 26 | 3-7 | 0-3 | 1-2 | 0-1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 7 |
| 05 | O’Neal II, Kris | * | 34 | 1-2 | 0-1 | 3-4 | 1-3 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 5 |
| 12 | Prospere II, Emanuel | 28 | 7-10 | 0-1 | 3-5 | 2-4 | 6 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 17 | |
| 13 | Rogers, Georden | 9 | 1-4 | 0-1 | 0-0 | 1-1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | |
| TM | TEAM | 0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Totals | – | 200 | 32-58 | 9-23 | 8-12 | 10-22 | 32 | 13 | 18 | 9 | 3 | 6 | 81 |
McKendree 69
| ## | Player | GS | MIN | FG | 3PT | FT | ORB-DRB | REB | PF | A | TO | BLK | STL | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 03 | Zurliene,Caleb | * | 35 | 7-12 | 1-4 | 3-3 | 0-8 | 8 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 18 |
| 00 | Niesman,Joey | * | 32 | 5-8 | 1-2 | 1-1 | 1-3 | 4 | 2 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 12 |
| 25 | Parker,Carson | * | 32 | 5-7 | 0-1 | 2-4 | 3-3 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 12 |
| 31 | Vicentic,Milos | * | 26 | 3-9 | 1-4 | 0-0 | 0-2 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| 01 | Stein,Kevin | * | 21 | 0-3 | 0-2 | 0-0 | 1-1 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 21 | Meakes,Hayden | 22 | 5-10 | 1-3 | 2-3 | 1-1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 13 | |
| 10 | Davitkov,Aleksandar | 21 | 3-3 | 1-1 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | |
| 04 | Davis,Malcolm | 8 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-1 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 22 | Mateski,Luka | 3 | 0-1 | 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 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Totals | – | 200 | 28-53 | 5-17 | 8-11 | 6-20 | 26 | 15 | 12 | 12 | 1 | 4 | 69 |
UMSL TRITONS 2023-24 MEN’S BASKETBALL SCHEDULE
| Date | Gametime | At | Opponent | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | Hyland Arena / St. Charles, Mo. |