UMSL junior Matt Enright scored a career-high 29 points in the Tritons’ loss to Lake Superior State on Tuesday night. (Photo courtesy: UMSL Athletics)
| NCAA Men’s Basketball | 1 | 2 | Final |
|---|---|---|---|
| #4 UMSL (21-12) | 31 | 31 | 62 |
| #2 Lake Superior State (30-6) | 33 | 42 | 75 |
Cedric Williams
Senior Editor
SPRINGFIELD, IL — The thrilling ride of 2024-25 University of Missouri-St. Louis men’s basketball came to an end on Tuesday evening, when the Tritons lost in the NCAA Division II Tournament Midwest Regional finals, 75-62, to Lake Superior State in a game played at the University of Illinois-Springfield’s The Recreation and Activities Center.
UMSL, which began the season by losing its first five games, finished the year with a 21-12 record. After losing those first five, UMSL won six of its next seven, then ended the regular season with winning seven in a row.
The Tritons also won their first two postseason games to advance to the Great Lakes Valley Conference Tournament championship game. Then, in the NCAA Tournament, UMSL won its first two games to advance to the Sweet 16, before finally having its season come to an end with the loss to Lake Superior State.
On Tuesday, Lake Superior State grabbed an early lead and held it until UMSL went on a 25-13 run over a stretch of 10-plus minutes that gave the Tritons a 27-21 lead. Lake Superior State responded by going on a 12-4 run of its own to close the half and take a 33-31 edge into the break.
UMSL began the second half with a 12-6 run to take a brief lead. But LSSU responded again by going on a 15-5 run to grab the lead for good midway through the second half.
The Lakers then pushed their lead to as many as 17 points in the final minutes of the game, before finally winning by 13 points.
UMSL’s Matt Enright scored a career-high 29 points to the lead the Tritons. The junior from Webster Groves made five three-pointers to help keep UMSL in the game.
Teammate Troy Glover added 12 points, 11 rebounds, four blocked shots, and two steals. Both players were named to the Midwest Region all-tournament team.
Lake Superior State (30-6) will now advance to the NCAA Tournament Elite Eight, where it will play Dallas Baptist in the national quarterfinals, next Tuesday, March 25. The winner of that game will advance to the D2 Final Four, which will be played at the Ford Center in Evansville, Ind.
#4 UMSL 62
| ## | Player | GS | MIN | FG | 3PT | FT | ORB-DRB | REB | PF | A | TO | BLK | STL | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 03 | Enright,Matt | * | 40 | 12-23 | 5-10 | 0-0 | 0-3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 29 |
| 35 | Glover II,Troy | * | 38 | 3-8 | 0-0 | 6-8 | 5-6 | 11 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 12 |
| 12 | Prospere II,Emanuel | * | 39 | 3-11 | 0-2 | 2-3 | 1-8 | 9 | 2 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 8 |
| 20 | Wykle,Savon | * | 39 | 3-10 | 0-5 | 0-0 | 1-1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 6 |
| 10 | Harris,Janeir | * | 39 | 1-5 | 1-5 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| 23 | Purvey,Iziah | 3 | 2-2 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | |
| 01 | Parker,Quenton | 1 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 1-0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 22 | Chartrand,Ethan | 1 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 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 | 24-59 | 6-22 | 8-11 | 8-18 | 26 | 15 | 11 | 6 | 5 | 7 | 62 |
#2 Lake Superior State 75
| ## | Player | GS | MIN | FG | 3PT | FT | ORB-DRB | REB | PF | A | TO | BLK | STL | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 04 | Edmondson,Tyson | * | 39 | 8-13 | 5-8 | 2-2 | 0-4 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 23 |
| 00 | Womack,Devin | * | 37 | 3-6 | 2-4 | 4-4 | 0-4 | 4 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 |
| 11 | Perkins,Kingsley | * | 24 | 5-11 | 0-0 | 0-2 | 6-5 | 11 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 10 |
| 22 | Soma,Andy | * | 34 | 1-5 | 1-5 | 4-4 | 2-2 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 7 |
| 33 | Soper,Hunter | * | 29 | 0-4 | 0-4 | 3-4 | 0-4 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| 10 | Harakow,Adam | 22 | 6-11 | 2-6 | 3-4 | 2-8 | 10 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 17 | |
| 42 | Smith,Kendall | 4 | 1-1 | 1-1 | 0-0 | 0-2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | |
| 01 | Carter-Smith,Nino | 7 | 0-1 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 02 | Cassidy,Blake | 2 | 0-1 | 0-1 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 32 | Jamison,Tyler | 2 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 1-0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| TM | TEAM | 0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 2-1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Totals | – | 200 | 24-53 | 11-29 | 16-20 | 13-30 | 43 | 12 | 11 | 11 | 4 | 2 | 75 |
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 | postponed |
| January 11, 2025 (Saturday) | 3 p.m. | Home | Rockhurst | Mark Twain Building | L 88-71 (6-7) |
| January 13, 2025 (Monday) | 5:30 pm | Home | Southwest Baptist | Mark Twain Building | W 71-65 (7-7) |
| January 16, 2025 (Thursday) | 7:30 p.m. | Away | Lincoln | Jefferson City, Mo. | W 69-51 (8-7) |
| January 18, 2025 (Saturday) | 3 p.m. | Away | #17 Missouri S&T | Rolla, Mo. | L 88-84 (8-8) |
| January 20, 2025 (Monday) | 6 p.m. | Away | Quincy | Quincy, Ill. | L 79-76 (8-9) |
| January 23, 2025 (Thursday) | 7:30 p.m. | Away | Maryville | St. Louis, Mo. | W 91-66 (9-9) |
| January 30, 2025 (Thursday) | 7:30 p.m. | Home | Illinois-Springfield | Mark Twain Building | W 74-66 (10-9) |
| February 1, 2025 (Saturday) | 3 p.m. | Home | McKendree | Mark Twain Building | L 68-66 (10-10) |
| February 6, 2025 (Thursday) | 7:30 p.m. | Away | Lewis | Romeoville, Ill. | W 77-66 (11-10) |
| February 8, 2025 (Saturday) | 2:30 p.m. | Away | UIndy | Indianapolis, Ind. | W 71-70 (12-10) |
| February 13, 2025 (Thursday) | 7:30 p.m. | Home | Quincy | Mark Twain Building | W 85-62 (13-10) |
| February 15, 2025 (Saturday) | 3 p.m. | Home | Upper Iowa | Mark Twain Building | W 70-67 (14-10) |
| February 20, 2025 (Thursday) | 7:30 p.m. | Away | William Jewell | Liberty, Mo. | W 78-77 (15-10) |
| February 22, 2025 (Saturday) | 3 p.m. | Away | Truman State | Kirksville, Mo. | W 86-62 (16-10) |
| February 27, 2025 (Thursday) | 7:30 p.m. | Home | Drury | Mark Twain Building | W 66-60 (17-10) |
| March 6, 2025 (Thursday) | 2:15 p.m. | Neutral | #7 Rockhurst | St. Charles, Mo. / Hyland Arena | W 77-70 (18-10) |
| March 8, 2025 (Saturday) | 2:15 p.m. | Neutral | #3 Upper Iowa | St. Charles, Mo. / Hyland Arena | W 87-80 (19-10) |
| March 9, 2025 (Sunday) | 1 p.m. | Neutral | #4 Lincoln | St. Charles, Mo. / Hyland Arena | L 58-51 (19-11) |
| March 15, 2025 (Saturday) | 7:30 p.m. | Neutral | #5 Ferris State | Springfield, Ill. / The TRAC | W 81-79 (20-11) |
| March 16, 2025 (Sunday) | 7:30 p.m. | Neutral | #1 Missouri S&T | Springfield, Ill. / The TRAC | W 65-56 (21-11) |
| March 18, 2025 (Tuesday) | 7 p.m. | Neutral | #2 Lake Superior State | Springfield, Ill. / The TRAC | L 75-62 (21-12) |