Cold Second Half Spoils UMSL Chances

Griffin Scores 24 Points in Loss at Kentucky Wesleyan

Owensboro, Ky. – The UMSL men’s basketball team had a hot first half and a cold first half, falling 76-63 at Kentucky Wesleyan on Monday night. The Rivermen shot a blistering 52.2% from the field in the first half, but followed that with 27.3% from the field in the second half to spoil their chances.

The Panthers jumped out quick, scoring the first six points of the game before Jonathan Griffin (St. Louis, Mo./Normandy) got the first bucket for UMSL. The Rivermen got down by as many as eight points early, trailing 10-2, before fighting their way back. Trailing by six, 22-16, the Rivermen got a three pointer from Griffin followed by another three pointer from Chris Mroz (Chicago, Ill./St. Patrick) on the next possession to tie the game at 22-22. Joey Paul (Highland Park, Ill./Highland Park) the gave the Rivermen their first lead of the game at 24-22 on a layup and another three pointer by Griffin gave UMSL their biggest lead of the game at 32-26 with just under three minutes left in the half. Kentucky Wesleyan fought back in those final minutes, getting a couple of late buckets to tie the game at 36-36 going into halftime.

In the second half, the Panthers got a free throw for a one-point lead and UMSL responded with a layup from Aaron Green (St. Louis, Mo./Riverview Gardens) for a 38-37 Rivermen lead. That would be the final lead of the game for UMSL, as Kentucky Wesleyan scored on a jumper on the next possession to take the lead for good. The Panthers quickly pushed that lead up to seven points over the next two minutes, but never led by more than nine points until the final minute of the game, hitting free throw at the end to extend their lead to the 76-63 final score.

Jonathan Griffin led all scorers with 24 points on the night, hitting 8-of-16 from the field and pulled down a team best eight rebounds. Aaron Green added 17 points and six rebounds in the loss and Chris Mroz scored 10 points off the bench.

The Rivermen fell to 2-7 with the loss and dropped to 1-5 in the Great Lakes Valley Conference. UMSL be in action again after the New Year, playing at Lindenwood on January 3 at 7 pm.