The UMSL men's basketball team was well represented when the GLVC handed out its awards for the season. Senior guard Troy Long (2) made the GLVC first team while junior guard Joshua McCoy (11) and junior forward Charlie Woods (24) made the league's second team and senior guard Justin Hightower (22) was tabbed to the All-Defensive Team. Head coach Steve Tappmeyer took home co-GLVC Coach of the Year honors. (Photos by Danny Reise)
Senior guard Troy Long of the University of Missouri–St. Louis men’s basketball team has been named to the Great Lakes Valley Conference First Team, while junior guard Joshua McCoy and junior forward Charlie Woods were selected to the league’s second team. Additionally, senior guard Justin Hightower was tabbed to the All-Defensive Team, while head coach Steve Tappmeyer took home co-GLVC Coach of the Year Honors.
The UMSL Tritons finished the season at 19-9 overall and were crowned GLVC West Division champions after posting a 13-5 regular season GLVC record.
Long led the Tritons in scoring and assists with 16.6 points and 3.1 assists per game. Additionally, he has netted 79 regular-season three-pointers, a UMSL single season record, and shot 42.6 percent beyond the arc. Nationally, he ranked among the best three-point shooters in all of NCAA Division II.
In regular season GLVC-only contests, Long tied for second in scoring, averaging 18.6 points per game. He led the conference with 60 three-pointers made and was also among the top 10 in three-point field goal percentage (third at .472), assist-turnover ratio (third at 2.22) and steals (tied for ninth at 1.56 spg).
McCoy finished second on the team in scoring at 14.4 points per game and owned a team-best 56 steals (2.0 spg). He also adds 4.6 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game and shot 83.7 percent (87-of-104) from the free throw line. McCoy netted 57 three-pointers and shot 39.0 percent from that range.
In regular-season GLVC-only contests, McCoy was 11th in scoring, averaging 15.7 points per game and was second in steals with 32, averaging 1.8 per game.
Woods led the team in rebounds with 6.8 per game and finished with a team-best 31 blocks, placing him in the top 10 in program history. Additionally, Woods is averaged 10.6 points, 1.4 assists and 1.1 steals per game and shot 45.4 percent from the field.
In regular season GLVC-only contests, Woods ranked fourth in the league with 7.3 rebounds per game and was fifth with 1.3 blocks per game.
Hightower averaged 6.3 points, 1.6 assists and 1.2 steals per game. He connected on 26 three-pointers and shot 40.0 percent from the three-point line.
Tappmeyer shared Coach of the Year honors with Bellarmine University’s (Louisville, Ky.) Scott Davenport. In his second season at the helm, Tappmeyer has resurrected the men’s basketball program, guiding the Tritons to their most wins since the 1990-91 season. Additionally, UMSL’s 13 regular season GLVC wins are a program best. Under the direction of Tappmeyer, the Tritons have posted back-to-back winning seasons for the first time since 1994-95 and 1995-96.
