UMSL Starts Season with Four Straight Wins

Griffin Notches Double-Double in UMSL Victory

St. Louis, Mo. – The Missouri-St. Louis men’s basketball team defeated visiting Arkansas Tech 72-69 on Saturday evening, giving the Rivermen four straight wins to open the season. It marks the first time since the 1966-67 season that UMSL has won four straight games to open the season. Jonathan Griffin (St. Louis, Mo./Normandy) led UMSL in the win with game highs of 23 points and 12 rebounds for his first double double of the season.

The game was tight in the opening minutes with two ties and five lead changes in the first six minutes. UMSL got a jumper from Troy Slaten (St. Louis, Mo./Marquette) to break the 9-9 tie, but Arkansas Tech stayed closed and trailed by one point at 23-22 with 10 minutes left in the half. UMSL scored the next five points from there and pushed their lead out to 12 points with five minutes left on another jumper by Slaten that capped a 16-5 run by the Rivermen. Jonathan Griffin would put the Rivermen up by 14 points at 46-32 with a rebound basket at end the half.

UMSL still led by 14 points early in the second half when Arkansas Tech made a big run to get back in the game. Trailing 49-35, ATU used a 16-3 run to get back within one point at 52-51 with 11:38 remaining. UMSL would hold the lead and got it up to six points at 63-67 when Arkansas Tech responded with seven straight points and took a one-point lead at 64-63 with 3:03 remaining. On the very next possession, Chris Mroz (Chicago, Ill./St. Patrick) hit a three pointer to put the Rivermen back in the lead for good with 2:45 left on the clock. ATU would get a layup with a minute remaining to close within one at 67-66 when Troy Slaten got a layup to put UMSL back up by three, and a free throw by Slaten made it 70-66 with 0:15 remaining. After a three pointer by ATU, Mroz would hit two free throws to secure the 72-69 UMSL win.

UMSL was led by Jonathan Griffin with his first double double of the season, scoring a game high 23 points and grabbing 12 rebounds. Troy Slaten added 12 points and Chris Mroz scored 11 points off the bench.

UMSL starts the season with its fourth straight win and is now 4-0 on the season. The four straight wins to start the season is the first time since the 1966-67 season, the first year of the program, that the Rivermen have gone 4-0 to start the season. That 4-0 start also matches the UMSL women’s basketball team, which currently sits at 4-0 on their season. The Rivermen will be at home for a pair of home games next weekend when they host Kentucky Wesleyan on Thursday, December 1, and Southern Indiana on Saturday, December 3.