North STL News

The University of Missouri-St. Louis men's basketball team opened its season with a close 82-79 loss to Northwest Missouri State at the D2CCA Tip-off Classic held at St. Joseph Civic Arena on Saturday evening. This game marked the first contest of the season for both teams, with UMSL now holding a 0-1 record and Northwest Missouri State at 1-1.

UMSL started strong, making seven of its first ten shots and building an early eight-point lead after a jumper by Jake Hamilton. The Tritons maintained their advantage at 21-15 with just over eleven minutes left in the first half before Northwest Missouri State responded with a seven-point run to take its first lead at 22-21.

Taye Moore tied the score by hitting one of two free throws, but the Bearcats answered back with twelve consecutive points, eventually extending their lead to 34-22 following a layup from Matthew Mayes. Miles Boland narrowed the gap for UMSL with a three-pointer, but Northwest Missouri finished the half on a strong note, taking a 48-33 lead into halftime.

The Bearcats extended their advantage to start the second half, scoring five straight points to make it 53-33. UMSL responded by outscoring Northwest Missouri State in an 18-8 run that reduced the deficit to ten points; however, the Bearcats regained momentum and pushed their lead back up to fourteen.

Despite trailing by double digits, UMSL rallied late in the game. The Tritons scored twenty-two of the next twenty-nine points over five minutes and took their first second-half lead at 73-72 on a layup from Jayden Creighton with just over five minutes remaining. During this stretch, UMSL hit four three-pointers.

A turnover cost UMSL an opportunity to extend its lead when it resulted in a Bearcat layup that put Northwest Missouri State ahead again at 74-73. Although UMSL stayed within reach—pulling within one point in the closing seconds—a basket from Aiden Gair gave Northwest Missouri State a three-point cushion with thirteen seconds left. The Tritons had one last chance but missed a three-pointer as time expired.

UMSL ended the night shooting fifty-one percent from the field (31-for-61), including ten made threes out of twenty-two attempts. The team outrebounded its opponent thirty-six to twenty-eight and recorded twenty assists on thirty-one made field goals but struggled at the foul line, converting only fifty-eight percent of free throws.

Taye Moore led all scorers with a career-high twenty-three points and added seven assists for UMSL. Meechy Phillips contributed seventeen points off the bench along with eight rebounds—the most by any player in the game—while Hamilton and Boland chipped in thirteen and twelve points respectively.

UMSL will play its final game of the D2CCA Tip-off Classic against Missouri Western at St. Joseph Civic Arena on Sunday evening.