ST. JOSEPH – The Missouri Western men’s basketball team (0-1) fell to Winona State (1-0) 71-67 in overtime to start the 2017-18 season in the 26th Annual Hillyard Classic.

DOWN TO THE WIRE
A pair of Seth Bonifas free-throws with 54 seconds remaining in the second half allowed Missouri Western to tie the game at 60. After a defensive stop, Trey Brown hit Bonifas inside the lane to give MWSU a 62-60 advantage with 10 seconds remaining. Out of a timeout, Winona State’s Connor Flack was able to force overtime with a coast-to-coast layup. The Warriors outscored the Griffons 9-5 in the overtime period.

COLD NIGHT
Despite a career-high 21 points from Seth Bonifas, the Griffons were cold on the evening. Missouri Western was just 21.7 percent from the three-point arc and 35 percent from the field. MWSU hit just five three’s in the loss. Last week in an exhibition game, the Griffons connected on 14 three-pointers.

UP NEXT
Missouri Western hosts Upper Iowa at 2 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 12 in the MWSU Fieldhouse. It will be the second game of the day in the 26th Annual Hillyard Classic.

 

— MWSU Athletics —