Junior forward Demetris Phillips scored 15 points on 6-for-6 shooting to help the Tritons roll to a 99-72 victory over crosstown rival Maryville on Saturday. (Photo by Patrick Clark/Athlete’s Eye Photography)
Men’s Basketball
The University of Missouri–St. Louis men’s basketball team hit its season high in points while routing crosstown rival Maryville 99-72 on a snowy Saturday afternoon at the Mark Twain Athletic Center in its only game of the week. Taye Moore and Vincent Davis III each finished with 16 points to lead the Tritons, but Coach Bob Sundvold‘s team got contributions from up and down the lineup in the Great Lakes Valley Conference matchup. All 13 players who took the floor scored at least two points, and the team tallied a season-best 29 assists. Makeer Makeer and Demetris Phillips joined Moore and Davis in double figures with 15 points each. Phillips was perfect from the field, going 6 for 6 from the floor, including 3 for 3 from beyond the arc. Moore, Makeer and Quenton Parker – who finished with nine points – each also made three 3-pointers as the team went 17 for 33 from beyond the arc. UMSL shot 57.4% from the field, including 65.6% in the first half as it sprinted out to a 56-31 halftime lead. The Tritons never led by fewer than 19 points after intermission. UMSL (12-8, 6-5 GLVC) is on the road this week, visiting McKendree on Thursday and Illinois Springfield on Saturday.
Women’s Basketball
The Tritons held off a fourth-quarter rally by Maryville Saturday afternoon to win their eighth straight game, 75-65 at the Mark Twain Athletic Center. Coach Katie Vaughn‘s team sits atop the GLVC standings with an unbeaten conference record, and the Saints came into Saturday as their closest competitors. But UMSL got off to a strong start, building a 19-11 lead at the end of the first quarter in a game that it never trailed. The Tritons stretched their advantage to 43-32 at halftime with Morgan Ramthun scoring 10 of her 14 points before intermission. UMSL needed that cushion because Maryville outscored the Tritons 22-16 in the third quarter and got as close as two points twice in the fourth period. UMSL held off the late charge and closed the game on a 12-4 run in the final four minutes. Lexi Hanna finished with a career-high 18 points to lead five Tritons in double figures. In addition to Ramthun’s 14, Jayden Kuper and Jaeda Wilson scored 12 points each. Mara Rieder finished with 10. UMSL shot 48.1% from the field and held the Saints to 41.7%, including 5 for 15 from 3-point range. The Tritons (15-2, 11-0 GLVC) will take their unblemished conference record on the road this week, playing McKendree on Thursday and Illinois Springfield on Saturday.
Men’s and Women’s Swimming
UMSL’s swimming teams celebrated Senior Night Friday evening when NCAA Division I Saint Louis University visited the UMSL Swimming Pool for a dual meet. The women’s team lost to the Billikens 106-96 while the men fell 114-91, but the Tritons managed to win a combined 10 events. All-American junior Justice Beard finished first in the women’s 1,000-, 500- and 200-yard freestyle races, posting times of 10 minutes, 22.79, seconds, 5:05.66 and 1:54.01, respectively. Teammate Audrey Lantz was a two-time winner on Friday, taking first in the 50- and 100-yard freestyle races in 24.40 and 54.30, respectively. Libby Smith won the women’s 400-yard individual medley, touching first in 4:45.25. On the men’s side, Lathan Parks won the 50 free in 21.56 seconds, edging teammate Gabriel Wells by .06 seconds. Aaron Wicklund won the men’s 400 IM in 4:10.75. Kaleb Suitor won the 100-yard butterfly in 51.27 seconds, and UMSL’s 200-yard freestyle relay team of Park, Joan Cortadellas Llubera, Wells and Suitor won with a time of 1:24.40. The Tritons’ scheduled meet with McKendree was postponed because of Saturday’s inclement weather but will be made up on Friday afternoon at the McKendree Metro Rec Plex. It will be UMSL’s final tune-up before the GLVC Championships, which will be held Feb. 10-14 at the Deaconess Aquatic Center in Evansville, Indiana.
