UMSL DROPS SEASON OPENER TO ROCKHURST

Rivermen Lose Late Lead in 64-60 Defeat

St. Louis, Mo. – The UMSL men’s basketball team dropped their season opener to Rockhurst University after seeing an early second half lead evaporate as the Hawks closed out a 64-60 win at the Mark Twain Building.

UMSL led by nine, 31-22, at halftime, and extended that lead to 35-22 to start the second half. Rockhurst then scored seven straight points to cut the lead to six points. UMSL then came right back with seven points of their own, including five straight by Derrick Redd (St. Peters, Mo./Francis Howell), to push UMSL’s lead to 42-29 with 13:32 left to play. The Hawks chipped away at the lead, cutting it to five points, 58-53, with five minutes remaining. Rockhurst then scored nine straight points over the next four minutes to lead 62-58. Missed free throws late by the Hawks kept UMSL alive, but the Rivermen could not get a shot to fall in the closing minutes, losing 64-60.

The first half saw tremendous defensive pressure from the Rivermen to gain the halftime lead. UMSL forced 15 turnovers in the first half and swiped ten steals while holding the Hawks under 40% shooting from the field. The Rivermen jumped out to a quick 9-3 lead in the opening minutes before Rockhurst came back to take an 11-10 lead. The game went back and froth from there, with the Hawks leading by five points, 22-17, with 4:39 left in the half. UMSL then closed the half by scoring the last 12 points, including two three point field goals from Justin Foust (St. Charles, Mo./St. Charles West) during that run.

UMSL was led by Ronnie Banks (Birmingham, Ala./Phillips) with 11 points and Jonathan Griffin (St. Louis, Mo./Normandy) with 10 points in the game. Rockhurst was led by Nick Biby with a game-high 21 points and 13 rebounds. The Rivermen start the season 0-1 and will be in action on Monday at Harris Stowe, and at home again on Wednesday, November 27, against Illinois-Springfield.