Box Score (ST. LOUIS, Mo., January 12)—Despite building an 11-point lead in the opening minutes of play, the McKendree University men's basketball team dropped a 78-54 decision Saturday at the University of Missouri-St. Louis.
 
Playing in its final Great Lakes Valley crossover game of the year, McKendree slipped to 7-7 with the loss. The Bearcats are now 1-3 in GLVC play, and will open up a three-game home stand on Thursday by hosting its first East Division foe, Lewis University. Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m. at the Harry M. Statham Sports Center.
 
Junior guard Clinton Happe (Evansville, IN/F.J. Reitz) led the offensive charge for McKendree with 17 points, while freshman forward Matt Murphy (Jerseyville, IL/Jersey Community) added 16 points. Happe and sophomore guard Mike DiGregorio (Morton Grove, IL/Niles Notre Dame) each pulled down a team-best eight rebounds in the effort for the Bearcats.
 
In the first nine minutes of play, McKendree hit four of its first five three-point field goal attempts on its way to a 20-9 lead. The Bearcats trailed 5-3 in the opening moments before a tip-in by Murphy and a lay-up by DiGregorio gave McKendree its first lead of the contest at 7-5. Those two field goals sparked a 17-4 run for McKendree over a seven-minute span. Happe capped the burst with a three-pointer at the 11:28 mark to give the Bearcats their 11-point advantage.
 
Missouri-St. Louis (9-4, 2-3 GLVC) started to chip away at its deficit, and used a 14-4 run to pull within 24-23 with 7:04 left in the half. Happe helped the Bearcats stretch the lead back to 27-23 with a three-pointer at the 5:06 mark, which proved to be McKendree's final points of the first half. The Tritons closed the period by scoring the final six points to take a 29-27 lead at the intermission. McKendree missed on its final seven shots of the opening half.
 
Over the first seven minutes of the second half, UMSL was able to take control, using an 18-3 run to take a 47-30 lead. McKendree battled back and pulled within 55-54 following a three-pointer by Happe with 9:09 on the clock. The Tritons then put the game out of reach by scoring 11 of the next 12 points to build a 66-45 advantage with 5:56 to play.
 
Darian Cartharn led UMSL with 18 points, four assists and three steals. Joshua McCoy added 12 points and seven rebounds, while Isiah Nunn scored 11 points and pulled down seven rebounds in a reserve role for the Tritons. Aareon Smith grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds for UMSL, which won its second straight contest.