UMSL Ends Season With Loss to Saint Joseph's

Griffin Scores 33 Points in Season Finale

St. Louis, Mo. – The UMSL basketball team ended their season with 98-87 loss to visiting Saint Joseph’s on Saturday afternoon. Jonathan Griffin (St. Louis, Mo./Normandy) led UMSL with a career high 33 points in the loss.

The Pumas took control of the game early on and never let up, jumping out to a 22-point halftime advantage. UMSL led in the opening minutes 11-6 just three minutes into the game. The Pumas sprinted out from there with a 19-2 run over the next four minutes and led by 12 at 25-13 with 13 minutes left in the half. Saint Joseph’s then used a 10-0 run later in the half to pushed the lead out to as many as 25 points and led 55-33 going into halftime.

UMSL made some runs in the second half, cutting into the Pumas’ lead, but each time Saint Joseph’s would respond. UMSL got the lead to 14 points twice in the first five minutes of the half, and would get it down to 13 points at 64-51 with 13 minutes left in the game. Saint Joseph’s came right back and scored the next four points and would push their lead back up to 20 points. UMSL would continue to pound away at the lead, and got it down to a nine-point game at 80-71 with five minutes left after a layup by Jonathan Griffin. It would remain a nine-point lead at 82-73 when the Pumas used a 6-2 run to put the lead back to double digits and held on from there for the 98-87 final score.

UMSL was led by Jonathan Griffin with a career high 33 points on the night and pulled down 11 rebounds. Kevin Nordmann (Webster Groves, Mo./Webster Groves) added 17 points for the Rivermen. Saint Joseph’s was led by Derrick Fey with 24 points and 13 rebounds and Jamie Holden had 10 points and 17 assists.

The Rivermen finish the season with a 9-18 record and a 5-15 mark in the GLVC.