UMSL Falls to 8th-Ranked Southern Indiana

St. Louis, Mo. – The University of Missouri-St. Louis men’s basketball team lost to 8th-ranked Southern Indiana 72-59 on Tuesday night. USI jumped out to a quick lead and held off a late UMSL rally in the second half for the win.

The Rivermen kept it close early in the game, trailing by just one at 8-7 in the first five minutes. Trailing by two points at 10-8, UMSL saw the Screaming Eagles go on an 11-2 run over the next five minutes to take an 11-point lead at 21-10. USI would push their lead out to as many as 15 points later in the half before UMSL closed the gap and got within eight points at 31-23 after a layup from Stanley Boateng. Southern Indiana would get the final three points of the half and took a 34-23 lead into halftime. In the second half, USI pushed their lead out to as many as 20 points at 58-38 with nine minutes remaining. UMSL would cut into the lead a little, and got within ten points after a three pointer by Nathan Whittaker made it 66-56 with 2:14 remaining, but the Screaming Eagles would hold on for the 72-59 win.

UMSL was led by Brett Ledbetter with 12 points, and David Ward and Troy Slaten each scored 11 points. Octavious Hawkins pulled down a game-high 12 rebounds for UMSL in the loss.

The Rivermen fall to 9-13 on the season and are 4-10 in the GLVC. UMSL will host Saint Joseph’s College on Saturday night, with tipoff scheduled for 9:00 pm, in a game that will be played on the campus of Washington University in St. Louis.