Box Score

Bolivar, Mo. - The Southwest Baptist University men's basketball team lost a heartbreaker in the final seconds to Missouri Western on Saturday afternoon 65-64. With the loss, SBU drops to 8-10 (3-6 MIAA) on the season.

In a fast paced first half, the Bearcats and Griffons played a tight opening ten minutes of basketball with both teams exchanging baskets. With the game tied at 10-10 with 12:47 left in the half, SBU went on an 11-3 run fueled by strong post play from Finn Delany and Patrick Burke to open up a 21-13 lead. Western cut the lead back down to four (21-17), before the Bearcats pushed the lead back to double-digits at 27-27 with 2:30 left in the half. A Derrick Stewart three with time expiring in the first half gave SBU a 35-21 lead heading into the break.

The Bearcats came out in the second half looking to extend their lead, and a layup from Menas Stephens followed by a pair of free throws from Delany gave SBU a game high 18 point lead (39-21). Missouri Western slowly started chipping away at the lead, cutting the Bearcat lead down to two (46-44) with 10:12 remaining. Southwest Baptist responded, and a three from Stewart with 7:39 left extended the lead back to seven (55-48). However Missouri Western continued to hang around and used a layup with six seconds left on the clock to finish off the game as the Bearcats would fall 65-64.

Menas Stephens was one rebound away from another double-double as he finished with a team high 17 points to go along with 9 rebounds. David Gabrovsek added 13 points while Derrick Stewart had 11 points for SBU. As a team SBU shot 41.7% from the field, 50.0% from beyond the arc, and 65.2% from the free throw line.

The Bearcats will be back in action on Thursday, January 22 when they host Lindenwood. Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m. from the Meyer Sports Center in Bolivar.