A chance for a rivalry sweep on Wednesday for the Griffons came up seconds short as the Missouri Western men basketball team dropped a heart breaker in the MWSU Fieldhouse, 59-58, to Northwest Missouri State.
Trailing by one with seven seconds remaining, Cortrez Colbert’s attempt to drive was stopped short when Matt Wallace stripped the ball from Colbert, ending the game. Northwest had a chance to go up by three on the prior possession but Connor Crooker’s layup came up short. Colbert pulled down the rebound before Brett Weiberg called a timeout to draw up the Griffons final play.
The Griffons had their chances leading up to the turnover. Aaron Emmanuel missed a free throw with the Griffons trailing by one and 53 seconds left on the clock. The ball stayed with Missouri Western but Hans Thun would miss a three-point attempt with 50 seconds left.
Northwest outscored Missouri Western by five in the second half after a red hot first frame for MWSU. The Griffons went to halftime with a 32-28 lead on 68 percent shooting from the field, a perfect 100 percent from three and 75 percent from the free throw line. Missouri Western shot 52 percent in the second half but missed all three of their three-point attempts, while Northwest used the three to climb back into the game. The Bearcats went 5-6 from three in the second half.
Cortrez Colbert led all scorers with 20 points. Colbert game MWSU a chance in the second half, making two straight buckets to erase a four-point Northwest lead with 7:35 to go. Another layup from Colbert gave the Griffons a 52-50 lead, then Colbert stretched the MWSU lead to four with his fourth-straight basket, scoring eight straight for the Griffons. Hans Thun scored 10 and Kevin Thomas had eight points and 10 rebounds before fouling out. Emmanuel scored eight points and Dareon Jones finished with seven points and five rebounds that included two free throws with less than two minutes left that pulled the Griffons within one.
With the loss, Missouri Western falls to 9-11 overall and 5-8 in MIAA play. The face Lindenwood for the second time in seven days, hosting the Lions on Feb. 7. Saturday night’s game is also Military Appreciation along with Youth Basketball Night and Boy Scout Night.
— MWSU Sports Information —