UMSL’s Emanuel Prospere scored 20 points and seven assists in the Tritons’ blowout win over Truman State on Saturday. (Photo: Cedric Williams)
| NCAA Men’s Basketball | 1 | 2 | Final |
|---|---|---|---|
| Truman St. (4-8, 1-3) | 25 | 42 | 67 |
| UMSL (7-7, 5-1) | 42 | 39 | 81 |
Cedric Williams
Senior Editor
NORMANDY, MO — After going more than a month since its last home game, the University of Missouri-St. Louis men’s basketball team looked happy to be home, Saturday afternoon, when it blasted visiting Truman State, 81-67, in a Great Lakes Valley Conference game at the Mark Twain Building.
UMSL’s last home game was a 62-46 loss to Rockhurst on December 2. Since then, the Tritons played three true road games and two neutral site games, going 3-2, but hadn’t been back inside the Mark Twain Building since a week after Thanksgiving.
On Saturday, UMSL looked every bit like a team glad to be back on its own home floor and playing in front of its home fans, as five Triton players scored in double-figures to power the club to one of its most impressive wins of the season.
Junior swingman Emanuel Propere led the charge for the Tritons. The 6-foot-5 former junior college star, came off the bench and scored a game-high 20 points. He also added five rebounds and seven assists in one of his most impressive performances since joining the Tritons.
UMSL teammates Troy Glover, Savon Wykle, Matt Enright, and Terrell Kabala also had fine games for the Tritons.
Glover had 17 points and 11 rebounds, Wykle scored 15 points, while Enright and Kabala each scored 12 points and combined to hit six three-pointers.
The Tritons took control of the game late in the first half, when first, it went on a 10-0 run to take a 29-17 lead with just under five minutes to go. Then after Truman State hit a pair of threes to end that run, UMSL responded by closing the half with a 13-2 run that gave the club a 42-25 edge at halftime.
Truman trailed big the entire second half, but did manage to cut the UMSL lead to eight points on two different occasions. Each time though, the Tritons responded with big buckets and consistently good defense to make sure the Bulldogs never really got within striking distance again.
The victory improved UMSL’s overall season record to 7-7 and lifted the club’s GLVC mark to 5-1, which is good for second place in the current league standings. Only Indianapolis, which is 5-0, has a better GLVC record than UMSL.
Truman State is 4-8 on the year and 1-3 in league play.
The Tritons will be back at home again for their next contest, which will come on Saturday, January 13, against defending GLVC Tournament champ, McKendree. That matchup at the Mark Twain Building will tip off at 3 p.m.
Truman State 67
| ## | Player | GS | MIN | FG | 3PT | FT | ORB-DRB | REB | PF | A | TO | BLK | STL | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 21 | Eiland,Landon | * | 25 | 4-8 | 2-5 | 3-3 | 0-3 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13 |
| 30 | Hall,Xavier | * | 31 | 2-10 | 1-3 | 0-0 | 1-3 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 5 |
| 01 | Williams,Kobi | * | 17 | 2-5 | 0-3 | 0-0 | 0-2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 |
| 20 | Lovette,Brennan | * | 20 | 1-2 | 1-1 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| 13 | Shearer,Trey | * | 25 | 1-6 | 0-4 | 0-1 | 0-2 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 22 | Lawrence,Casen | 24 | 4-7 | 4-7 | 0-0 | 0-1 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 12 | |
| 23 | Haefner,Matt | 16 | 4-8 | 3-6 | 1-2 | 0-3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 12 | |
| 14 | Talton,CE | 23 | 4-5 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-3 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | |
| 03 | Porter,Blaise | 12 | 2-4 | 1-2 | 0-0 | 0-7 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 5 | |
| 33 | Knutson,Joe | 7 | 1-1 | 0-0 | 1-1 | 0-1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | |
| TM | TEAM | 0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 1-0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Totals | – | 200 | 25-56 | 12-31 | 5-7 | 2-25 | 27 | 17 | 12 | 12 | 1 | 4 | 67 |
UMSL 81
| ## | Player | GS | MIN | FG | 3PT | FT | ORB-DRB | REB | PF | A | TO | BLK | STL | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 35 | Glover II, Troy | * | 27 | 7-14 | 0-1 | 3-6 | 2-9 | 11 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 17 |
| 20 | Wykle, Savon | * | 38 | 3-8 | 1-5 | 8-9 | 0-4 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 15 |
| 03 | Enright, Matt | * | 38 | 4-13 | 2-7 | 2-3 | 0-4 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 12 |
| 21 | Kabala, Terrell | * | 37 | 4-7 | 4-7 | 0-0 | 1-3 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 12 |
| 04 | Bledsoe, Sam | * | 6 | 0-1 | 0-1 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 12 | Prospere II, Emanuel | 35 | 9-13 | 0-1 | 2-4 | 2-3 | 5 | 2 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 20 | |
| 15 | Quartlebaum, Mayson | 12 | 1-2 | 1-2 | 0-0 | 1-1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | |
| 05 | O’Neal II, Kris | 7 | 1-2 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | |
| TM | TEAM | 0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 4-2 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Totals | – | 200 | 29-60 | 8-24 | 15-22 | 10-29 | 39 | 10 | 20 | 7 | 2 | 6 | 81 |
UMSL TRITONS 2023-24 MEN’S BASKETBALL SCHEDULE
| Date | Gametime | At | Opponent | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January 13, 2024 (Saturday) | 3 p.m. | Home | McKendree | Mark Twain Building |
| January 18, 2024 (Thursday) | 6:30 p.m. | Away | Indianapolis | Indianapolis, Ind. / Nicoson Hall |
| January 20, 2024 (Saturday) | 3 p.m. | Away | Lewis | Romeoville, Ill. / Neil Carey Arena |
| January 25, 2024 (Thursday) | 7:30 p.m. | Home | Missouri S&T | Mark Twain Building |
| January 27, 2024 (Saturday) | 3 p.m. | Home | Maryville | Mark Twain Building |
| February 1, 2024 (Thursday) | 7:30 p.m. | Away | Upper Iowa | Fayette, Iowa / Dorman Memorial Gymnasium |
| February 3, 2024 (Saturday) | 3 p.m. | Away | Truman State | Kirksville, Mo. / Pershing Arena |
| February 8, 2024 (Thursday) | 7:30 p.m. | Home | Illinois Springfield | Mark Twain Building |
| February 10, 2024 (Saturday) | 3 p.m. | Home | Quincy | Mark Twain Building |
| February 15, 2024 (Thursday) | 7:45 p.m. | Away | Drury | Springfield, Mo. / O’Reilly Family Events Center |
| February 17, 2024 (Saturday) | 3 p.m. | Away | Southwest Baptist | Bolivar, Mo. / John Q. Hammons Court |
| 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 | TBD |