Mroz Hits Game Winner in Double Overtime

Rivermen Beat Lewis 82-79 in Double Overtime

St. Louis, Mo. – Chris Mroz (Chicago, Ill./St. Patrick) hit the game winning shot with 2.5 seconds left in double overtime to carry the Rivermen to an 82-79 victory over Lewis University. Mroz finished with 13 points on the night, and Derrell Minner (New Madrid, Mo./New Madrid Central) added 18 points and 13 rebounds.

After missing a shot at the end of regulation that would have given UMSL the win, Sherome Cole (Sikeston, Mo./Richland) hit a three pointer with seven seconds left in the first overtime period that tied the score at 71-17, sending into a second overtime. In that second overtime, Lewis got the first five points and led 76-71, but UMSL got a three-point play from Derrell Minner and a three pointer from Joey Paul (Highland Park, Ill./Highland Park) to give UMSL a 77-76 lead. Lewis would tie it on a free throw and then both teams exchanged jumpers that left the game tied at 79-79 with 38 seconds left. Sherome Cole took the ball in the closing seconds, drove down the lane and kicked out to Chris Mroz who hit the game winner from 22 feet for the 82-79 win.

UMSL got off to a slow start in the beginning, going scoreless in the opening seven minutes and not getting their first field goal until Sherome Cole hit a three pointer at the 10:40 mark. By that time, Lewis had opened up an eight-point lead before the bucket by Cole. The Flyers continued to add to their lead, pushing it out to a 14-point lead at 22-8 with 6:34 left in the half. UMSL would make a run from there, outscoring the Flyers 8-1 over the next four minutes and cut the deficit down to seven points at 23-16. UMSL would close the half with a three-point play by Sherome Cole and tailed by just four points, 25-21, going into halftime.

The Rivermen got the first bucket of the second half on a jumper by Jonathan Griffin (St. Louis, Mo./Normandy), but the Flyers quickly pushed their lead back up to nine points and led 37-28 with 16 minutes remaining. UMSL would cut that deficit to five points at 39-34 when the Rivermen went on a big run to take the lead. UMSL outscored Lewis 18-1 over the next seven minutes to take a 52-43 lead with eight minutes remaining. Six different players scored during that run for UMSL, including Chris Mroz who hit a three-point field goal to start the run, and capped it off with another three pointer. Lewis would close in on the Rivermen, cutting their lead to just one point at 54-53, but UMSL got the next two buckets to push it back out to a five-point lead with 2:29 remaining. The game was then tied at 60-60 with under a minute to play when Joey Paul got two free throws to give UMSL the two-point advantage, but the Flyers got a bucket from Steve Turner with 18 seconds left in regulation to tied it at 62-62 and send it into extra periods.

Derrell Minner led UMSL with his second career double double with 18 points and 13 rebounds. Sherome Cole played big off the bench, getting 17 points, eight rebounds and three assists. Chris Mroz added 13 points and Jonathan Griffin scored 12 for the Rivermen.

UMSL improves to 7-15 on the season and 4-12 in the GLVC while Lewis falls to 9-13 overall and 4-11 in the GLVC. The Rivermen will be at home again on Saturday when they host SIU Edwardsville at 7:30 pm.