UMSL Roars Past Lions in Overtime

Chris Mroz Scores 10 Points in Overtime to Spark Rivermen

St. Louis, Mo. – The Missouri-St. Louis men’s basketball team won an overtime thriller over Missouri Southern, winning 92-84 over the Lions. Chris Mroz (Chicago, Ill./St. Patrick) hit two, three pointers and scored 10 points in the overtime period to lead UMSL (2-0) past the Lions (2-1) and Troy Slaten (St. Louis, Mo./Marquette) added 18 points for the Rivermen.

The game was tied 73-73 at the end of regulation, and UMSL got a quick three pointer from Chris Mroz to start the overtime scoring and give UMSL the quick lead. Missouri Southern would tie the game at 78-78 a few minutes later and it would remain tied at 80-80 when Mroz struck again, hitting another three pointer with 1:14 remaining to give UMSL the lead for good at 83-80. UMSL then connected on six consecutive free throws while holding the Lions scoreless and cruised from there for the 92-84 win.

UMSL got behind early as Missouri Southern scored the first four points of the game and held the lead through the early going in the first half. UMSL stayed closed and got their first lead of the game on at 13-11 on a pair of free throws by Jonathan Griffin (St. Louis, Mo./Normandy). The Lions came right back and reclaimed the lead at 19-15 but the Rivermen responded with six straight points to lead 24-22. Missouri Southern came back and pushed a lead out to as many as five before UMSL closed the half with the final four points to go into halftime trailing by one, 33-32.

The Lions got opened the second half with a 14-5 run and extended their lead out to eight points at 49-39 with just under 15-minutes remaining. UMSL would slowly claw their way back in the game. Trailing by eight points at 52-44, UMSL scored eight straight and tied the game on a layup by David Ward (Maryland Heights, Mo./DeSmet) with just over 10 minutes left. UMSL would stay close and took the lead at 63-61 on a jumper by Aaron Jackson at the 5:31 mark. Missouri Southern came right back and tied the game but Troy Slaten answered for UMSL with a three pointer to give the Rivermen a 66-63 lead. The Lions would come back and retook the lead at 69-68 after a pair of free throws with just over two minutes left. UMSL then got a fast break dunk by Jonathan Griffin to take a one-point lead, but MSSC answered with a jumper to lead to regain the lead at 71-70. UMSL got a three pointer from Troy Slaten with just over a minute remaining, but the Lions forced the overtime with a jumper at 0:49 that tied the game at 73-73.

UMSL was led by Troy Slaten with 18 points and Jonathan Griffin added 16. Chris Mroz scored 12 points, including ten in the overtime period, and Derrell Minner (New Madrid, Mo./New Madrid Central) had 11 points and seven rebounds. UMSL is now 2-0 on the season and will be at home for a pair of game this weekend. UMSL will host Brescia on Friday at 6 pm, and then host Arkansas Tech on Saturday evening at 5 pm.