HAYS, Kan. – Griffon Men's Basketball (11–4, 3–1 MIAA) dropped a tightly contested MIAA road matchup at Fort Hays State (10–3, 2–2 MIAA), falling 67–65 on Saturday afternoon at Gross Memorial Coliseum.

In a defensive, low scoring opening half, Fort Hays State built a 13 to 6 advantage at the 12:10 mark. The Griffons answered with a strong finish and took a 28 to 27 lead into halftime after Marko Pavlovic scored in the paint in the final 30 seconds.

The Griffons carried that momentum into the second half, opening on an extended run to build their largest lead of the game at 14 points. Pavlovic scored repeatedly in the paint, Noah King pushed the pace and attacked the rim in transition, and Pavlovic capped the surge at the free-throw line to give MoWest a 45–31 advantage with just under 14 minutes remaining.

Fort Hays State answered with steady pressure, scoring inside and getting to the free-throw line to slowly close the gap. The Tigers grabbed their first lead of the second half, 56–55, with 4:39 remaining.

The closing minutes saw six lead changes, highlighted by a go-ahead three from Gavin Hershberger at the 3:54 mark that put the Griffons in front 60–59. Free throws from Hershberger later gave the Griffons a 65–63 advantage with just over a minute remaining.

After Fort Hays State tied the game at 65–65 from the free-throw line with 56 seconds remaining. The Tigers secured a defensive rebound with 30 seconds left, giving Fort Hays an opportunity to take the lead. Lucas Hammeke finished a layup at the basket with four seconds on the clock to put Fort Hays State ahead 67–65. MWSU's final three-point attempt at the buzzer was blocked, sealing the narrow road loss.

Pavlovic led the way with 16 points on 6-of-14 shooting from the field and 4-of-9 at the free-throw line, while adding 10 rebounds, two assists, and two blocks.

Hershberger followed with 15 points on 4-of-7 shooting, knocking down 3-of-6 from three-point range and going 4-of-5 at the free-throw line, to go along with two rebounds, one assist, and two steals.

King chipped in 11 points on 5-of-13 shooting from the floor, while pulling down five rebounds.

Ty Henry contributed eight points on 3-of-6 shooting, while adding two rebounds, one block, and one steal.

MWSU finished the game shooting 42.3 percent from the field (22-of-52). The Griffons went 27.8 percent from three-point range (5-of-18) and 66.7 percent at the free-throw line (16-of-24)

Fort Hays State shot 43.5 percent from the field (27-of-62), connected on 25.0 percent from beyond the arc (3-of-12), and went 10-of-14 at the free-throw line for 71.4 percent.

What's Next
Griffon Men's Basketball will open a MIAA home stand with the first of four straight home games inside the Looney Complex, beginning Wednesday, Jan. 7, against No. 1 Washburn at 7:30 p.m.