UMSL Cruises to Win Over Northern Kentucky

Banks Scores 17 Points to Lead Rivermen to Third Straight Win

St. Louis, Mo. – The UMSL men’s basketball team extended its winning streak to three games, cruising to an 82-62 win over Northern Kentucky on Saturday afternoon. Ronnie Banks (Birmingham, Ala./Phillips) led the Rivermen with 17 points and seven assists on the day.

The Rivermen took control of the game during a five-minute stretch in the first half, gaining a big advantage early. Northern Kentucky took a 10-8 lead at the 13:54 mark after consecutive three pointers from Steve Purdon. From there, the Rivermen went on a 17-3 scoring run over the next five minutes to take a 25-13 lead with just under nine minutes left in the half. During that run, the Rivermen got three three-point field goals and Jared Pratt (Elsberry, Mo./Elsberry) scored six points for UMSL during that stretch. UMSL would extend that lead out to as many as 16 points at 35-19 after a three pointer by Kevin Nordmann (Webster Groves, Mo./Webster Groves) with 5:49 left in the half, and the Rivermen would take a 44-29 lead going into halftime.

UMSL continued that roll to start the second half, scoring the first four points of the half and led by 20, 51-31 after a pair of Jonathan Griffin (St. Louis, Mo./Normandy) free throws with 16 minutes remaining. The UMSL lead would extend to as many as 24 points after a fast break layup by Justin Foust (St. Charles, Mo./St. Charles West) made it 59-35. The Norse would cut the lead down to 17 points on two more occasions in the half, the last at 67-50 with 5:44 remaining, but UMSL answered that with six straight points and cruised from there for the 82-62 victory.

UMSL had four players in double figures, led by Ronnie Banks with 17 points and seven assists. Jonathan Griffin added 14 points and Kevin Nordmann and Jared Pratt each had 13 points off the bench for the Rivermen. UMSL was near perfect from the line as well, hitting 22-of-24 free throws as a team and hit 43.3% (26-for-62) from the field in the game as well.

The Rivermen improve to 9-12 on the season and are now 5-9 in the GLVC. UMSL will be on the road for the next four games, beginning with a game at Kentucky Wesleyan on Thursday night.