Griffons fall on the road at Rockhurst 73-59

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The Missouri Western men’s basketball team’s first road game of the 2017-18 season resulted in the Griffons’ third loss (2-3) of the year. Missouri Western led for 28 seconds in the first half of a 73-59 loss at Rockhurst (3-1).

CLOSE AT THE HALF
After falling behind 13-2 to open the game, Missouri Western trailed by eight with three minutes to go in the first half before going on a 9-0 run to take a 30-29 lead with 28 seconds to go before halftime. Rockhurst made two free throws with two seconds left in halftime to take a 31-30 lead to the break. The one-point deficit at halftime was the Griffons’ first of the season. Missouri Western led its previous three games at the half and was tied with Winona State halfway through the season opener. The Griffons would have two more short-lived leads early in the second half on Seth Bonifas jumpers, the second of which gave the Griffons their last lead of the game with 17:51 to go in the game. The Griffons shot close to 43 percent from the field in the first half and just 27 percent in the second. Rockhurst shot better than 63 percent in the second half after just under 38 percent shooting in the first half.

BROWN BESTS CAREER-HIGH
Freshman Trey Brown has had his two highest scoring totals of the young season in the past two games. Brown scored a team-high 12 points Tuesday night on 4-of-10 shooting from the field to go along with three assists and two rebounds. In his first collegiate season, Brown is averaging 6.8 points per game.

BONIFAS IN DOUBLE-FIGURES AGAIN
Seth Bonifas scored 10 points Tuesday night and has now scored in double-figures in four of the Griffons’ five games this season. The senior is averaging 11.8 points per game, more than two points more than he averaged in any of his first three seasons. Bonifas is also averaging a career-high 5.4 rebounds per game after pulling down a team-high six boards against Rockhurst.

UP NEXT
Missouri Western stays on the road for two more non-conference games this week before diving into MIAA play next week. The Griffons will be in Fort Smith, Arkansas to take on Southeastern Oklahoma State (1-3) on Nov. 24 at 5 p.m. and Arkansas-Fort Smith (5-0) on Nov. 25 at 3 p.m.

— MWSU Athletics —