UMSL LOSES SECOND HALF LEAD TO BLUE TIGERS

Rivermen Fall to Lincoln in Non-Conference Game 62-55

Lincoln, Mo. – The UMSL Rivermen jumped out to a quick lead early, and held a 13-point lead in the second half, but it was not enough as the Lincoln Blue Tigers came storming back to win 62-55 over the Rivermen in a non-conference game.

UMSL got on the board first with two quick buckets from Jared Pratt for a 4-0 lead in the opening minutes. Lincoln would come back and tie the game twice in the early going, the last tie coming at 6-6 five minutes into the game. The Rivermen then reeled off six straight points to take a 12-6 lead on a jumper by Jonathan Griffin. The Blue Tigers would fight back and close the gap to one point at 18-17 before UMSL went on a 10-0 run, which included four points each from Jared Pratt and Daryl Saine as the Rivermen took a 28-17 lead, its largest of the half. Over that span, the UMSL defense held the Blue Tigers scoreless over a four-minute span. Lincoln would then bounce back and scored the final four points of the half, including a running jumper at the buzzer as UMSL had a 28-21 lead at halftime. Jared Pratt was the big story for UMSL in the first half, setting a career high in both points and rebounds in the opening half with 14 points and 10 rebounds at the break. The Rivermen also got good inside play, as 26 of UMSL’s 28 first half points were scoring by the big men.

In the second half, UMSL came out strong and scored the first six points of the half to jump out to their largest lead of the game at 34-21 after a three-pointer by Justin Foust. The Blue Tigers came roaring back from that deficit, getting back-to-back three pointers from Martin Palmer and one from Sean Briggs that sparked a 17-4 run by the Blue Tigers that cut into the Rivermen lead and tied the game at 38-38 with 9:40 left in the game. Lincoln then took their first lead since the opening minutes on a three-point play by Yusuf Sabree for a 41-38 lead. UMSL would stay close, trailing 43-42 when the Blue Tigers got a three pointer by Tracy Blake to go up by six points at 48-42. The Rivermen would get back to within four points at 48-46 after a running jumper by Ronnie Banks, but Lincoln responded with eight straight points to lead 56-46. The biggestw basket during that stretch came with UMSL down by four points, 50-46, with under three minutes to play, and after grabbing a rebound on a missed free throw by Lincoln, UMSL turned the ball over and Sean Briggs hit a three pointer for the Blue Tigers, and less than a minute later hit another three pointer to give Lincoln that 56-46 lead. The Blue Tigers then hit some free throws in the closing minutes and held on for the 62-55 win.

UMSL was led by Jared Pratt, who had career bests with 20 points and 13 rebounds in the game. Qwanzi Samuels added 10 points as well for the Rivermen. Lincoln was led by Jonas Pierre and Sean Briggs with 14 points each. The Rivermen are now 5-14 on the season and will return to conference play with two GLVC games at home this weekend. UMSL will host Kentucky Wesleyan on Thursday, February 6 at 7:45 pm and then host Bellarmine on Saturday, February 8 at 3:15 pm.