Box Score

Bolivar, Mo. - The Southwest Baptist University men's basketball team lost a heartbreaker to Minnesota Duluth on Saturday afternoon in Bolivar. The Bulldogs hit a layup as time expired as SBU would fall 68-67, dropping to 0-2 on the season.

The Bearcats started the game out strong on the offensive side of the ball, with a layup from Daymond Cowlah and a jumper from Menas Stephens, to take an early 4-0 lead. The Bearcats held a small lead for the first part of the first half, and extended their lead to six (13-7) on an and one from Stephens with 14:52 to go. SBU continued to push, extending their lead to a game high 9 points (23-14) off of a Quinton Smith three, with 9:30 left in the half. UMD would battle back, using a 12-3 run to tie the contest up at the 5:36 mark in the first half. The Bearcats and Bulldogs would exchange buckets, and the lead, as the Bearcats went into the break down 36-35.

Coming out of the break the Bulldogs used a 9-2 run to extend the Bearcat deficit to eight (45-37), but a Derrick Stewart three, Stephens layup, and a pair of free throws from Robert Shaw cut the lead back to two at 45-43 with 14:34 left. UMD pushed their lead back to eight (55-47) in a game of mini runs, but once against the Bearcats fought back. A David Gabrvosek three with 10:19 to go in the game cut the Bulldogs lead back to three, and then another three with 6:05 tied the contest up at 59-59. Southwest Baptist pushed the lead to three off of a Gabrovsek layup, but Minnesota Duluth took a two point lead (65-63) with 2:14. Stephens would then hit three free throws over the next minute of action to give the Bearcats a 66-65 lead with 16 seconds to play, but UMD converted on a basket as time expired as they Bearcats would fall 68-67.

"I am very proud of the way our guys played tonight," head coach Clark Sheehy stated. "I thought Menas [Stephens] did really well tonight, especially on the glass. I thought David [Gabrovsek] also played very well, giving us valuable points. We only turned the ball over 10 times as opposed to last night's 20. It's a big step in the right direction."

Menas Stephens led the way for the Bearcats, registering a double-double with 15 points and 11 rebounds. David Gabrovsek hit three three's en route to a 13 point performance, while Daymond Cowlah also added 13 in the loss. As a team SBU shot 45.1% from the field, 34.8% from beyond the arc, and 68.4% from the free throw line.

The Bearcats will be back in action on Tuesday, November 18 when they travel to Drury for the annual Highway 13 Catfight. Tip is set for 7:30 p.m. from Springfield, Missouri.