UMSL Claws Past Lions

Buzzer Beater by Griffin Gives UMSL Victory

St. Louis, Mo. – The Missouri-St. Louis men’s basketball team clawed their way past the Lindenwood Lions on Monday night, winning 72-70 on a last second shot by Jonathan Griffin (St. Louis, Mo./Normandy).

UMSL jumped out to the quick lead in the first half before the Lions came roaring back to take the lead. The Rivermen led 9-2 in the first five minutes of the half before Lindenwood rode the hot shooting of Justin Shrake to gain the lead. With the score tied 16-16, Lindenwood went on a 10-2 run, with all ten points coming fro Shrake. The lead would extend to as many as 11 points with three minutes left in the half before UMSL closed the game to eight, 37-29, at halftime.

The Rivermen came out strong to start the second half, scoring the first seven points of the half and cutting it to a one-point lead at 37-36. UMSL would stay close and eventually tie the game at 44-44 on a three pointer from Kevin Nordmann (Webster Groves, Mo./Webster Groves) with 13:40 remaining. On the next possession, UMSL got a steal and a fast break layup from Ronnie Banks (Birmingham, Ala./Phillips) for UMSL’s first lead since early in the first half.

The game went back and forth over the last 13 minutes, as it would be tied seven more times and had ten lead changes over that stretch. Lindenwood would lead by as many as three points on two occasions, the last a 64-61 lead with just under five minutes left. The big offensive spark for UMSL came from Jared Pratt (Elsberry, Mo./Elsberry), who scored ten straight points for the Rivermen over a three-minute span. Two free throws by Pratt would cut the Lions’ lead to one, and a layup by Pratt on the next possession gave the lead back to UMSL at 65-64. After a Kevin Nordmann free throw tied the game at 70-70 with one minute remaining, it set the stage for last second heroics. Lindenwood had their chance, missing a layup and a pair of free throws, and gave UMSL the chance to win. Jonathan Griffin would end up with the ball for the Rivermen at the top of the key in the closing seconds and drove down the right side of the lane, hitting a pull up jumper with 1.2 seconds remaining for the 72-70 win.

The Rivermen were led by Jared Pratt with 16 points on 5-of-7 shooting from the field and a perfect 6-of-6 from the line. Kevin Nordmann added 15 points and Jonathan Griffin had 14 points, including the game winner, and eight rebounds. Lindenwood was led by Justin Shrake with a game-high 30 points, 23 of those coming in the first half.

UMSL is now 2-2 on the season and will begin the conference portion of their schedule on the road this weekend. The Rivermen will play at Northern Kentucky on Saturday, November 29 at 3:15 pm ET, and then play at Bellarmine on Monday, December 1, at 7:45 pm ET.