Box Score UMSL boxscore in PDF

The Maryville men's basketball team nearly overcame a 20-point second half deficit but came up just short as the University of Missouri-St. Louis held off the Saints 74-69. Armon Provo poured in 21 points to pace the Maryville effort.
 
The Saints struggled from the field in the first half and shot just 27.3 percent as the Tritons took a 40-23 lead at halftime. UMSL pushed the edge to 46-46 with 16:38 left in the contest, and still led 59-40 midway past the second half, before the Saints slowly cut into the margin. Harrison DuPont hit back-to-back jumpers, and Melvin Turner sank a bucket to bring the Saints to 60-46. The UMSL edge was 63-51 until a Turner 3-point from the top of the key pulled the Saints to single figures for the first time in the half.
 
With 3:13 to play, Maryville trailed by 11 before Provo was fouled on a 3-pointer and converted all three at the line. The Saints forced a turnover, and Turner hit a trey from just in front of the Maryville bench to trim the margin to 68-63 at the 2:15 mark. UMSL made one free throw but Provo grabbed an offensive rebound and had a putback as the Saints closed to 69-65. Maryville applied the pressure in the halfcourt to force an UMSL turnover, but the Saints gave the ball right back.
 
The Tritons sank one free throw, and Trae Pemberton knocked down two free throws as Maryville made it a one-possession game with 38 seconds remaining. The Saints put the Tritons back on the line and the home team hit another free throw to build a 71-67 lead. However, Maryville committed another turnover, and UMSL sealed the win with three free throws in the final 20 seconds.
 
Provo hit 7-of-10 shots, including four 3-pointers, to top the Saints. Myles Jerrett and Turner scored 11 and 10 points, respectively. Femi John had game highs of 24 points and nine rebounds to lead UMSL which improved to 6-2 overall, 1-0 in the Great Lakes Valley Conference.
 
The Saints slip to 4-3 overall, 0-1 in the league. Maryville is off until it hosts Missouri Baptist, Tuesday, Dec. 17.