Bolivar, Mo. – The Bearcats suffered their first back-to-back loss of the season Thursday evening, falling to #23 ranked Missouri-St. Louis. After trailing by 18 midway through the second half, SBU erased the deficit to just 1, but couldn't complete the comeback. Southwest Baptist is now 11-4 on the season and Missouri-St. Louis improves to 12-3.
 
Mitch Ganote scored SBU's first four points of the game, but it took 5 minutes to get those points on the board. The Bearcats managed to fight back over the next few minutes, bringing the score to 16-15 in favor of UMSL. The Tritons quickly pushed their lead to 13 and held a similar lead for nearly the rest of the first half. With 10 seconds left on the clock, Brady Smith nailed a jumper and was fouled, completing the three-point play to make the score 36-25 at halftime.
 
Momentum stayed in favor of the Tritons to begin the second half, as they were able to build an 18-point lead with 13:59 left on the clock. From there, the Bearcats began chipping away at the lead. When the score read 49-37, Ricky Crawford Jr. hit two three pointers and picked up a foul on another basket, making it 9 straight points for the freshman. That series of scores cut the deficit to 8 points with 9:24 left. After a basket by UMSL, Joe Miller hit a pair of free throws and Quinn Nelson and Crawford Jr. hit from deep, making the score 57-54 with just under 6 minutes to go. A few minutes later, the visitors had a 7-point lead, but scores from Brady Smith and Mitch Ganote cut the deficit to just 1 with 1:38 left on the clock. The Tritons were able to make key baskets and free throws, sealing the win at 71-65.
 
Mitch Ganote led the team with 14 points and had 5 rebounds, 4 assists, and 3 steals. Brady Smith was close to a double-double, scoring 11 points and grabbing a game-high 8 rebounds. Jalil Beaubrun hit double digits for the first time in his career, scoring 10 points. Ricky Crawford Jr. made 3 of the team's 5 three's on the night, scoring 12 points and adding 4 rebounds.
 
Saturday will feature the first of back-to-back matchups with the McKendree Bearcats, playing in Bolivar at 3 PM. After that, the teams will play in Lebanon, IL on Tuesday, February 9 at 6 PM.