The Truman State men’s basketball team will advance into the GLVC Tournament quarterfinals after defeating the University of Missouri-St. Louis Sunday 90-84. The Bulldogs concluded the regular season on a four-game winning streak, letting them play further into the GLVC tournament. Truman’s next tournament game will take place Friday afternoon against the University of Wisconsin-Parkside.
The ‘Dogs fought a close game against the Tritons, who led Truman for the majority of the first half. The Tritons built early momentum with accurate shooting but did not get more than a six-point lead. Head Coach Chris Foster says the team struggled to stop the Tritons during the first half because UMSL continued to make shots even when the Bulldogs switched up the defense.
“We just searched for a line-up or a defense we could play to get some stops,” Foster says.
Truman closed the gap late during the first period, going into half-time behind by one. The Tritons’ lead ended quickly during the second half when the Bulldogs went on a run to take the lead. The ‘Dogs led for most of the remainder of the game, only allowing the Tritons to tie the score once before regaining the lead. Junior guard Kyle Kanaskie, who scored seven points in a row at the start of the second period, says the team was a bit sluggish during the first half but came out during the second with more determination.
“We ended the first half on a little run,” Kanaskie says. “In the second half, we just really wanted to come out with a lot of intensity.” Five Truman players finished with more than 10 points Sunday, with the team hitting more than 60 percent of its shots. Kanaskie was among the Bulldog’s point leaders, scoring 16.
Truman will compete against the No. 3 University of Wisconsin-Parkside Rangers during the tournament quarterfinals. Sistrunk says the Bulldogs want revenge against the Rangers because the ‘Dogs lost 102-98 in overtime to the Rangers Feb. 11.
Sistrunk says this game is one he has been looking forward to for a while because the last game against the Rangers sticks out as one of the team’s most frustrating losses this season.
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