Banks Scores 33 Points, Leads UMSL to Win

Rivermen Beat Bellarmine 85-74

St. Louis, Mo. – UMSL senior Ronnie Banks (Birmingham, Ala./Phillips) scored 33 points to carry the Rivermen to an 85-74 win over Bellarmine. Banks hit 11-of-16 from the field and 5-of-6 from three-point range to lead UMSL to an emotionally charged win on Thursday evening.

In the first half, Bellarmine had the early lead at 6-4 before UMSL caught fire and went on a run. The Rivermen used a 17-5 run over the next five minutes to take control of the game and push the lead out to 21-9. During that run, Ronnie Banks led the UMSL charge, scoring 10 straight points for the Rivermen, including two three pointers during that time. The Knights came back and cut the lead to nine points at 28-19 with 7:24 left in the half, but the Rivermen scored six of the next eight, getting two three pointers to push the lead back to 13 points and took a 40-28 lead going into halftime.

UMSL cam out strong to start the second half and led by 23 points after a jumper by Jared Pratt (Elsberry, Mo./Elsberry) made it 53-30 at the 15:45 mark. The Knights then came charging back, going on a 16-4 run over the next four minutes to cut the UMSL lead down to just nine points at 55-46. The Rivermen responded with a three pointer from Justin Foust (St. Charles, Mo./St. Charles West) to stop the Bellarmine run and push the UMSL lead back up to 12 points. The Rivermen then made another big run, leading 66-54, UMSL went on a 12-2 run, getting seven of those 12 points from Ronnie Banks, to increase their lead to 22 points at 78-56 with just under five minutes remaining. That lead proved to be enough, as UMSL would hold on from there for the 85-74 win.

The Rivermen were led by Ronnie Banks with a season high 33 points, and added five assists and three steals on the night. Jonathan Griffin (St. Louis, Mo./Normandy) and Justin Foust each added 13 points for UMSL. The Rivermen as a team hit 52% (29-of-54) from the field in the game.

UMSL is now 5-9 on the season and 2-6 in the GLVC. The Rivermen will be in action again this weekend when they host Kentucky Wesleyan on Saturday at 3:15 pm.