UMSL Drops First Conference Game

Rivermen Fall 73-54 at Northern Kentucky

Highland Heights, Ky. – The UMSL Rivermen dropped their first conference game of the season with a 73-54 loss at Northern Kentucky. It was the first loss in the GLVC this year after a road win at Bellarmine this past weekend.

In the first half, Northern Kentucky grabbed the early lead and looked to run away with it, as the Norse jumped out to a 9-1 lead in the early going. NKU then led by as many as 13 points, at 18-5 with nine minutes remaining in the half. UMSL fought back and stayed close, thanks to seven straight points off the bench from Mindaugas Adamonis, keeping UMSL within shooting distance. Trailing 23-12 with 4:30 to play in the half, the Rivermen then mounted a charge and went on a 12-4 run to close out the half. Adamonis started the run with a bucket, and Ronnie Banks and Justin Foust each knocked down a three pointer to close the gap. Qwanzi Samuels hit two baskets during that stretch, including a shot to end the half on a baseline jumper as the shot clock expired, sending UMSL into the lockerroom trailing by just three points at 27-24.

In the second half, NKU again jumped out and increased the lead to as many as 13 points at 41-28 with 14:46 remaining. The Rivermen continued to fight back however, and after a three-pointer from Qwanzi Samuels the gap was just four points at 50-46 with 9:10 remaining. From there, the Rivermen went into a draught, going scoreless for the next four minutes as the Norse went on a 10-0 run during those four mintues to push the lead to 14 points at 60-46. NKU then held on to that lead and went on to win the game by a score of 73-54.

UMSL was led in the game by Qwanzi Samuels with 11 points and Mindaugas Adamonis who also scored 11 points off the bench for the Rivermen. The Rivermen hurt themselves by hitting just 4-of-13 from the free throw line, as Daryl Saine hit 3-of-4 from the line and the rest of the team hit just 1-of-9 from the charity stripe.

The Rivermen are now 3-2 on the season and 1-1 in the GLVC. UMSL will be in action at home this coming weekend, hosting Saint Joseph’s College on Thursday, December 5, at 7:45 pm in the first television game of the year. UMSL will then be at home on Saturday, December 7, against Wisconsin-Parkside at 3:15 pm.