The Central Missouri men got hot late, took its first lead of the game with under four minutes to play and erased an otherwise great performance by the Griffon men in a 74-68 victory at the MWSU Fieldhouse.
The loss dashed any hopes the Griffons (8-17, 3-16) had of making the MIAA Tournament and moved the Mules (18-7, 14-5) into a three-way tie atop the MIAA standings with Missouri Southern and Northwest Missouri. It was the 11th time this season the Griffons have ended a game within two posessions, and the seventh loss of six points or less.
Dominique Long put the Mules ahead 61-60 with his second free throw with 3:46 remaining. Boo Hunter scored seven points in the final two and a half minutes, including a three that put Central up by four, and a layup that extended the lead to five.
The Griffons shot just under 45 percent from the field on the night, and narrowly outrebounded the Mules, 31-27. Central shot 65 percent from the field in the second half, to average 53 percent for the game.
Lavonte Douglas recorded his sixth double-double of the season with a 21-point, 11-rebound performance. TJ Johnson chipped in with 13 points and seven rebounds and Justin Reid added 11 points.
Western opened with stingy defense and hot shooting from Douglas. The Griffons forced eight Mule turnovers in the first frame, scoring eight points off the UCM giveaways. Douglas led all scorers at the break with 14 points on 7-9 shooting from the field and pulled down six first half rebounds.
Western shot 45 percent from the field in the first half, holding the Mules to 35 percent from the field. The Griffons were also effective on the offensive glass, pulling down eight rebounds and scoring 12 second chance points. UCM benefited from 11-14 shooting from the free throw lines to go into the locker room down 32-23. The nine point halftime lead was the Griffons largest since Jan. 30, when they led Fort Hays by 10 at the break. The Tigers outscored Western by 14 and went on to win 62-58.
Southwest Baptist comes to the fieldhouse for Senior night Saturday at 7:30. Western will honor seniors TJ Johnson, Lavonte Douglas and Deionta Mitchell.
— MWSU Sports Information —