JOPLIN, Mo. - Griffon Men's Basketball (17-9, 9-6 MIAA) overcame a 10-point deficit in the second half and held off Missouri Southern for a 66-65 win at Robert Ellis Young Gymnasium inside the Leggett and Platt Athletic Center in Joplin on Saturday.
The first half was a back-and-forth affair, but Southern (13-10, 7-7 MIAA) held MoWest scoreless for the final 2:09 of the first half, and the Lions led 37-32 at intermission.
Southern's lead grew to 44-34 with 18:08 to go, but MoWest stayed the course and eventually took its first lead of the second half at 59-58 with 6:30 to go, thanks to a
Noah King three-pointer.
Another big three by
Devin Butler put MoWest ahead 64-61 with 2:57 remaining. The Griffons never trailed after that, but Southern cut it to a one-point game with 14 seconds to go.
After a missed front end of a 'one-and-one,' Southern got the ball back with a chance to win it at the buzzer, but a three-pointer at the tail end by MSSU's Gavyn Elkamil went out, giving MoWest the win.
Butler came off the bench for a team-high 18 points on 6-of-7 shooting, including a 4-of-5 effort from three.
Frank Keller came off the bench for a season-high 11 points. The Griffs were 10-of-27 (37%) from three and 21-of-49 (42.9%) from the field overall. MoWest also made 14-of-17 (82.4%) at the foul line.
The Griffons got 38 points from their bench and scored 12 points off of 10 Southern turnovers.
MoWest heads home on Thursday to face No. 25 Arkansas-Fort Smith (18-6, 9-6 MIAA). Tip-off from MWSU Fieldhouse 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 watch on the MIAA Network.
