ST. JOSEPH – Griffon Men's Basketball (1-3) overcame a 28-point deficit in the second half to get within five before eventually losing 83-74 to Minnesota Crookston (1-1) to close out the 28^th Annual Hillyard Tip-Off Classic at Civic Arena.
 
Crookston led 63-35 with 11:48 to go, but the Griffons came firing back with a 21-10 run to cut the lead to 71-56 with six minutes remaining. Missouri Western trailed 75-70 with 1:33 to go, but could not close the gap any more than those five points. MWSU was 7 for 15 from 3-point range in the second half for 47%. Alex John scored all 14 of his points in the second half. Jonathan Mesmacque scored all eight of his points in the second half. Tyus Millhollin had 12 after halftime and Reese Glover knocked down two crucial 3-pointers during the Griffon run.
 
After being outscored 47-29 in the first half, the Griffons won the second half 46-35. After Harrison Cleary scored 20 points for the Golden Eagles in the first half, the Griffons held him to nine in the second. Missouri Western won the battle on the boards, pulling down 38 to UMC's 35. The two teams combined for just 19 turnovers in the game, 10 for UMC and nine for the Griffons.
 
Tyrell Carroll finished with a team-high 17 points. Millhollin had 15 and John and Glover each finished with 14. John pulled down a game-high nine rebounds, eight in the second half. Mesmacque had seven rebounds.
 
UP NEXT
The Griffons stay in St. Joseph, but move to campus with a game against Missouri S&T in the MWSU Fieldhouse on Nov. 17 at 4 p.m.