ST. JOSEPH, Mo. – Griffon Men's Basketball (17-10, 9-7 MIAA) took a 98-87 loss to Arkansas-Fort Smith (19-6, 10-6 MIAA) on Thursday night at the MWSU Fieldhouse in St. Joseph.

The first half was a pretty epic battle with 14 lead changes and two ties, as the game was even at 47-47 heading into halftime.

MoWest scored the first points of the second half, but UAFS retook the lead at 50-49 with 19:28 to go, and never trailed thereafter. The Griffons fell behind, 76-66, with 9:54 to go and the Lions' lead grew to as many as 16 points with 3:08 remaining.

Noah King finished with a game-high 27 points on 9-of-14 shooting. He also doled out a team-best five assists to go with two rebounds and a block. Ty Henry was strong as well with 22 points on a crisp 8-of-9 shooting, including 6-of-7 from three. Marko Pavlovic contributed 12 points and a team-best seven boards.

MoWest shot 53.6% (30-of-56) from the field and 10-of-26 (38.5%) from three. UAFS shot 62.9% (39-of-62) from the field and 11-of-20 (55%) from three. Christian Moore paced the Lions with a season-best 25 points.

MoWest stays home to host Northeastern State (12-13, 5-11 MIAA) on Saturday. Tip-off is set for 3:30 p.m. It'll be Senior Day for MoWest as well.