UMSL Buried in Second Half by Miners

Rivermen Fall 76-59 at Missouri-Rolla

Rolla, Mo. – The Missouri-St. Louis men’s basketball team dropped their second straight game to open the season, falling 76-59 at Missouri-Rolla on Saturday afternoon. UMSL had four players in double figures, led by Joey Paul (Highland Park, Ill./Highland Park) with 14 points and Jonathan Griffin (St. Louis, Mo./Normandy) had 13 points, extending his double-digit scoring streak to 30 games.

UMSL got off to a quick start in the first half, getting a three pointer from Joey Paul and a layup from Derrell Minner (New Madrid, Mo./New Madrid Central) for a 5-0 lead in the opening two minutes. UMR came back with an 11-0 run to take a six-point lead, but the Rivermen would keep it close. UMSL would cut UMR lead back down to one point at 16-15 on a jumper by David Ward (Maryland Heights, Mo./DeSmet). With the Rivermen down by four, the Miners then went on an 8-2 run, increasing their lead to ten points at 33-23 with 2:36 left in the half. Missouri-Rolla would hold that ten-point lead going into halftime with a 40-30 advantage at the break.

In the second half, the Rivermen came out and quickly cut the lead down to seven points, getting a three pointer from Jonathan Griffin that made it 42-35 in the opening two minutes of the half. The Miners came right back and scored four straight points to push the lead back up to 12 points at 47-35 before UMSL got it back down to ten at 47-37 after a pair of Joey Paul free throws with 16:36 remaining. Missouri-Rolla jumped out ahead, using a 10-0 run over the next four minutes to push their lead to 20 points at 57-37. UMSL would get no closer than 15 points the rest of the way as the Miners cruised from there to the 76-59 win.

UMSL was led by Joey Paul with 14 points and Jonathan Griffin with 13 points. Freshman David Ward scored his first career points, netting 12 points and pulling down a team high five rebounds. Chris Mroz (Chicago, Ill./St. Patrick) scored ten points in the loss as well.

The Rivermen are 0-2 on the season, and will open up at home with three games over the next week. UMSL will host Harris Stowe in the home opener on Tuesday, November 23, at 7 pm. UMSL then starts conference play at home on Friday, November 26, against Saint Joseph’s at 7:30 pm, and then hosts Wisconsin-Parkside on Sunday, November 28, at 3 pm.