ST. JOSEPH, Mo. – Griffon Men's Basketball (13-6, 5-3 MIAA) got to the free throw line 42 times and got 31 points from their bench in a 89-80 win over Nebraska-Kearney (9-10, 2-6 MIAA) on Saturday at the MWSU Fieldhouse.
MoWest, who scores its first regular season sweep over UNK in men's basketball since 1985-86, got up 13-5 in the early minutes before UNK made a push to go up 36-32 with 1:02 left before halftime.
The Griffons nabbed a 39-38 halftime lead, however, thanks to a three-pointer by
Devin Butler with 25 seconds left before the break.
MoWest came out hot in the second half, hitting seven of their first nine field goals to lead 65-52 with 12:31 remaining.
UNK cut it to within single digits multiple times, getting as close as 84-80 with 50 seconds left, thanks to a three-pointer from Ja'Bryant Hill.
The Griffs, who hit each of their first 21 free throw attempts, hit five of their last six attempts at the stripe in the last 39 seconds to pull off the win.
Noah King logged his eighth 20-plus point performance of the season, scoring a game-high 27 points, shooting 8-of-16 from the field and 9-of-11 at the foul line. Butler came off the bench for 14 points, while
Bode Goodman chipped in 10.
Ty Henry and
Gavin Hershberger each scored eight. Will KIburis pulled down a team-high 10 rebounds. MoWest ended up going 33-of-42 at the foul line - a season-high in most free throw attempts.
The Griffs were 25-of-60 (412.7%) from the field and 6-of-22 (27.3%) from three.
MoWest heads back out on the road this Wednesday to face Central Missouri (14-6, 5-3 MIAA). Tip-off from the UCM Multipurpose Building in Warrensburg is set for 7:30 p.m.
The game will be broadcast on the Griffon Sports Network (Varsity Network App, GoGriffons.com/listen) and available to stream on the MIAA Network.