KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- The SBU Bearcats were upset by the Missouri Western Griffons 93-92 in the first round of the MIAA Tournament.
The Bearcats trailed by as much as 21 in the first half, after the Griffons blitzed the nets with 63% first half shooting. Missouri Western continued their torrid shooting in second, and ended at 63% (34 of 54) for the game.
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| Wendell Mardis |
The 'Cats rallied to tie the game at 87 on two D'Ante Harris free throws with 2:07 remaining. Western would pull back ahead by three before Harris would have another opportunity at the line to tie the game with six seconds remaining. After being fouled on a three-point attempt, he came up short on his first attempt from the stripe. He made the second but missed the third on purpose for a potential rebound. Western would come up with the loose ball and Lonnel Johnson would hit both of his free throws to seal the game for the Griffons (13-15).
The Bearcats put five players in double figures, led by D'Ante Harris with 17 points. Tomas Brock had 15, Johnnie Harris went for 13, Wendell Mardis had 12, and John Tiemeyer added 11. But that was offset by three 20+ point performances from Marcus Rhodes Lonnel Johnson and Ken Goodwin. The Griffon trio combined to go 25 of 34 from the field.
“I was surprised and disappointed by our performance,” said head coach Jeff Guiot. “We came out with zero energy and Western took it to us. When we were able to tie the game, we turned around and gave up a layup. We just were not fundamentally sound. They shot well from the foul line, and we did not. We were not up to par at the line.”
"We have to learn from this as we prepare for the NCAA Tournament, or our stay will be short-lived," added Guiot.
The Bearcats were without MIAA MVP Matt Rogers (illness) and All-MIAA honorable mention Nick Kovacevich (injury).
The Bearcats will now wait until Sunday evening to learn their opponent and location for the NCAA Tournament. The selection show begins at 8 p.m. in the main gym of the Meyer Sports Center.
Final Stats
