Carlson, Mells Post Double-Doubles as 'Dogs Drop Tritons

FINAL: Truman 83, Missouri-St. Louis 66 || Box Scores (HTML | XML | PDF)
2013-14 Schedule || 2013-14 Season Stats || Career Stats (active players)

KIRKSVILLE, Mo. - - It took just nine minutes for the Truman men's basketball team to build a 20 point lead on visiting Missouri-St. Louis on Thursday night, as the Bulldogs got double-doubles from senior Mike Carlson and junior Reed Mells in an 83-66 home victory.

Carlson – who notched his fourth 30-point performance of the season – got things rolling just 19 seconds in when he put home a lay-up to give Truman the early 2-0 edge. Two minutes later, it was 9-2 Truman, before the lead ballooned to 29-9 at the 11:09 mark of the opening half between two squads that entered the night tied for second in the Great Lakes Valley Conference west division.

The Bulldogs' (11-3, 4-2 GLVC) largest lead was 22 in the opening half, as Truman shot a blazing 56% in the first 20 minutes to lead 52-32 at the break. Carlson nearly matched the Tritons (9-5, 3-3 GLVC) point-for-point on his own, scoring 24 of his game-high 34 points in the first half on 10-of-13 shooting.

Truman's lead reached 25 two times in the second half, fueled behind 11 more points and an 11 total rebounding effort from Carlson and a 10-point, 10-assist night for Mells. Junior guard Seth Jackson added 15 points and four rebounds, while Andrew Vander Zwaag hit three triples off the bench and tacked on four assists.

For the game, the Bulldogs shot 55% (31-for-56) from the floor and knocked down 10 three-pointers. Truman also helped itself out at the free throw line by converting all 11 free throw opportunities.

UMSL, meanwhile, shot 43% for the game but hit 17-of-28 (61%) of its free throw tries. Tylor Wimbish led all Tritons with 15 points.

The Bulldogs return to action on Saturday afternoon, kicking off a three-game road trip at Maryville University in St. Louis at 3 p.m. The Saints held off Quincy 72-71 on Thursday night to 9-4 overall, 3-2 in the GLVC west.

Want to stay up-to-date with what's going on with the Bulldogs? Follow @TrumanAthletics on Twitter,become a fan of Truman Athletics on Facebook, subscribe to your favorite team's newsletters/releases, and receive text alerts of scores and big news to interact with all of Truman's 20 athletic programs. For more information, visit our website – TrumanBulldogs.com.

Print Friendly Version