Emanuel Prospere II led five UMSL players in double figures with 21 points in a 75-73 victory at Upper Iowa on Friday. (Photo by Patrick Clark/Athlete’s Eye Photography)
Men’s Basketball
The University of Missouri–St. Louis men’s basketball team went 3-0 over the holiday break, going 2-0 in the River City Holiday Classic and holding off a late rally by Upper Iowa in a 75-73 win on Friday night in Fayette, Iowa. The Tritons beat Pittsburg State 62-58 and Rogers State 67-57 in the tournament December 17-18 in San Antonio, Texas. Matt Enright scored a game-high 21 points with four 3-pointers against Pittsburg State and added 14 against Rogers State, though Iziah Purvey paced the Tritons with 17 points off the bench. Enright had 16 against Upper Iowa, and Emanuel Prospere II scored a team-high 21 points against the Peacocks. Upper Iowa had a chance to draw even in the closing seconds, but Kyle Hrncir’s layup attempt at the buzzer was waved off. UMSL (6-6, 4-1 Great Lakes Valley Conference) has now won three straight and six of its last seven games. The Tritons had their Sunday game at Quincy postponed by a winter storm until Jan. 20, but UMSL will return home this week to take on Southwest Baptist on Thursday and Rockhurst on Saturday.
Women’s Basketball
The Tritons capped a 2-0 run through the Puerto Rico Classic with a 78-32 thumping of Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico on Dec. 16 at Roger Mendoza Coliseum in Caguas, Puerto Rico, but they fell to Upper Iowa 56-44 on Friday evening in Fayette, Iowa. Five Tritons finished in double figures in the Dec. 16 game in Puerto with Katie Hamill, Alex Wolff and Abby Peterson each registering 11 points, and Mara Rieder and Brooke Woodyard both chipping in 10 off the bench. Nine UMSL players scored overall. Offense was harder to come by as the Tritons returned to GLVC play in their first game of the new year. UMSL shot 27.9% from the field, including 4 for 28 in the second half and 0 for 12 in the fourth quarter, while falling to the Peacocks. Wolff had 14 points, and Hamill added 11 but both struggled shooting. The Tritons’ scheduled game at Quincy was postponed Sunday because of the winter storm and will be played on Jan. 20. UMSL (9-3, 3-2 GLVC) plays host to Southwest Baptist on Thursday and Rockhurst on Saturday.
