Senior guard Elijah Watson scored 23 points to lead the Tritons to the season’s first Great Lakes Valley Conference victory, 88-83 Saturday at Truman State.

Women’s Basketball
UMSL dropped a pair of road games last week as it opened Great Lakes Valley Conference play, falling to ninth-ranked Drury 66-59 on Thursday before a 71-66 loss at Truman State on Saturday. The Tritons outscored the Panthers, 38-23, in the second half, but it wasn’t enough to dig out of a 29-point halftime hole. In the loss at Truman State, UMSL rallied back from a 13-point deficit with four minutes to play, getting as close as four points, before time ran out. Junior Arielle Jackson averaged 13.5 points, while freshman Alex LaPorta registered her fourth and fifth double-doubles of the season. She averaged 11 points and 13.5 rebounds in the two games. UMSL (3-3, 0-2 GLVC) will play host to conference foe William Jewell on Thursday.

Men’s Basketball
The Tritons bounced back from a 102-69 loss at Drury on Thursday to pull out an 88-83 victory at Truman State on Saturday in the first two games of the GLVC schedule. Senior Elijah Watson scored 23 points and dished out 12 assists in the win. He sank two free throws with 35 seconds to play to give UMSL an 84-83 lead, and the Tritons held on. Watson averaged 16 points and 6.5 assists in the two games while senior Steven Davis averaged 16 points, draining nine 3-pointers. UMSL (4-3, 1-1 GLVC) welcomes William Jewell in GLVC play on Thursday and will play host to Central Christian on Saturday.