UMSL Hits Century Mark in Exhibition Win

Rivermen Beat Reebok All-Stars 101-77

St. Louis, Mo. – The Missouri-St. Louis men’s basketball team reached new heights in their exhibition opener on Saturday, defeating the Reebok All-Stars 101-77. It was the first game as head coach for Chris Pilz, and he debuted a new up-tempo style of play that put the Rivermen over the 100-point mark. The last time UMSL scored 100 or more points in a regular season game was back in the 1997-98 season.

The game was close in the early going, as it was tied at 10-10 and UMSL led by two points, 16-14, before going on a 12-4 run to open up a ten-point lead. The Rivermen then led by as many as 18 points in the first half at 40-22 after two free throws from Ronnie Banks (Birmingham, Ala./Phillips). The Rivermen would hold on to a double-digit lead through the rest of the half and took a 51-39 lead into halftime.

UMSL then had a slow start in the second half as the Reebok All-Stars mounted a comeback. The UMSL lead would dwindle down to just two points at the 11:31 mark at 62-60. Leading 64-62, the Rivermen then took charge again, going on a 10-0 run that was sparked by two baskets from Jonathan Griffin (St. Louis, Mo./Normandy). The Rivermen then outlasted the Reebok All-Stars, holding Reebok to just five points in the final four minutes of the game as UMSL cruised to victory. The only question in the end was whether the Rivermen could reach the 100-point mark, which was reached in the final seconds when a three-pointer by Griffin made it 101-77.

Jonathan Griffin was the game high scorer with 28 points for UMSL on 12-of-18 shooting from the field. Griffin added 12 rebounds, three assists and three steals in the game and Jared Pratt (Elsberry, Mo./Elsberry) scored 20 points for the Rivermen.

UMSL will open the regular season next weekend when the Rivermen travel to play at Missouri-Rolla on Saturday, November 15 at 7:30 pm.