The Missouri Western men have made a habit of dropping close, hard fought games and the Griffons (7-15, 2-14) did it again Saturday afternoon at Bearcat Arena. Western wouldn’t go away in the second half and took No. 18 Northwest Missouri (19-3, 13-3) down to the wire, before falling 67-61. It marked the Griffons eighth loss of six points or less this season.

The Griffons were twice able to pull within three points in the final 30 seconds, but Bearcat free-throws downed Western and helped the Bearcats avoid the upset.Down by six with 24 seconds remaining, Reed Mells drained a 3-pointer that gave Western life. Two Jake Reinders free throws put Northwest up by five before a TJ Johnson dunk narrowed the lead to three again. Three more Bearcat free throws, and missed three’s from James Harris and Johnson closed out the game.

The Griffons jumped out to a quick 5-2 lead, that quickly turned into a 5-12 deficit early in the game. Western was a chilly 32 percent from the field in the first half. Douglas and Harris each scored six first half points. Mells had five and Justin Reid scored four in the first frame.

Lavonte Douglas recorded his fifth double-double of the season, leading the Griffons with 14 points and 10 rebounds. Johnson and Harris each scored 13 for Western. Reid finished with six and chipped in 10 boards. The Griffons shot 43 percent from the field, 33 percent from behind the arc and just under 44 percent from the charity stipe. Western held a 26-20 points in the paint advantage and out rebounded the Bearcats 38-31. Western had 12 turnovers, which Northwest converted into 14 points. The Griffons managed just four points on eight Bearcat turnovers.

Western begins the second half of a four-game road swing when they travel to Jefferson City to take on Lincoln Feb. 15. Western concludes the road trip on Feb. 18 with  a trip to Kirksville to face Truman State.

— MWSU Sports Information —