Rivermen Come up Short Against Northern Kentucky
Second Half Run by NKU Dooms UMSL
St. Louis, Mo. – The Missouri-St. Louis men’s basketball team put up a tough fight against Northern Kentucky on Thursday night, but a second half run by NKU spoiled UMSL’s chances as the Rivermen fell 63-55. Jonathan Griffin (St. Louis, Mo./Normandy) led all scorers in the game with 17 points and added seven rebounds in the loss for UMSL.
Northern Kentucky got two three pointers to start the game and jumped out to a quick 11-point lead at 19-8 in the opening eight minutes. The Rivermen still trailed by 11 points, 27-16, with five minutes remaining in the half when UMSL closed it out with a 15-2 run. The run started on four straight free throws, followed by a rebound bucket by Jonathan Griffin and a three pointer from Tim Geurin (St. Louis, Mo./Parkway West) to cut the lead to two points at 27-25. Griffin followed that with a fast break basket to tie the game and on the next possession, Griffin hit a three pointer to give UMSL a 30-27 lead. NKU got a layup for their only points in the final five minutes, and UMSL ended the half with a free throw to lead 31-29 at the break.
The Rivermen got the opening basket in the second half to lead by four, but NKU responded with eight straight points and took a 37-33 lead. The game remained tight and was tied at 44-44 with 12:41 remaining when UMSL took the lead back on a jumper by David Ward (Maryland Heights, Mo./DeSmet) to make it 46-44, but again NKU rallied strong, scoring the next seven points over a four-minute stretch to lead by five, 51-46. UMSL got a three pointer from Tim Geurin to cut the lead back down to two points, but the Norse came right back with eight consecutive points to take control of the game and lead 59-49. UMSL would get no closer than five points at 59-54 after a David Ward free throw as NKU cruised from there for the 63-55 win.
UMSL was led by Jonathan Griffin with 17 points and he pulled down seven rebounds. Aaron Green (St. Louis, Mo./Riverview Gardens) and Tim Geurin each scored 11 points and David Ward added eight points and a team best eight rebounds.
The Rivermen fall to 2-9 on the season and 1-6 in the Great Lakes Valley Conference. UMSL will be at home again on Saturday when they host Indianapolis at 3 pm.