ST. LOUIS — Turnovers and a lack of offensive punch contributed to Michigan Tech’s 75-57 loss Wednesday afternoon to No. 24 ranked Missouri-St. Louis inside the Mark Twain Building. The Tritons balanced their scoring and put up 40 points in the paint to pull away in the second half.

Tyler Robarge scored 12 points on 6 of 7 shooting with four rebounds in defeat for Tech. 

“We came out and played really well in the first 19 minutes,” said head coach Josh Buettner. “Mental mistakes at the end of the half set us back. Then they really sped us up in the second. We need to continue to grow and trust our offense to get results.”

Four Tritons made it to double-figures, including Isaiah Fuller (14 points, six rebounds, four steals). UMSL forced 16 Tech turnovers and shot 54-percent (28-52) from the field.

Michigan Tech played with a 14-9 lead to start the game, assisted by Marcus Tomashek in the mid-range. Tomashek posted seven points in the opening five minutes. Fuller helped the Tritons regroup and go in front for the first time 21-20 at the 5:30 mark. Fuller nabbed a steal and Bowen Sandquist sunk a left-wing 3-pointer at the horn to further shift momentum for UMSL.

From there, Missouri-St. Louis never looked back, using a 42-30 second-half scoring advantage to alleviate pressure.

The Tritons took advantage of 16 turnovers and committed 11, with a 24-21 edge in rebounding.

The Huskies (2-3) continue non-conference play at another nationally ranked opponent, No. 14 Minnesota-Duluth on Saturday, Nov. 26. at 2 p.m. Missouri-St. Louis stayed unbeaten at 5-0.