Bolivar, Mo. – The Bearcats faced the Missouri Western Griffons for the second time in just over a week. SBU fell to MWSU Thursday evening, 71-85. The loss moves SBU to 12-13 (6-10 MIAA) on the year.
Maris Colton scored quickly for the Bearcats, taking a 2-0 lead just over a minute into the game, but Missouri Western responded aggressively. They hit back to back three's and a layup following Colton's layup to take an 8-2 lead with just over 17 minutes left in the half. They continued to apply pressure, building a 12-3 lead before
Quinn Nelson made a layup. Again, it was the Griffons scoring, extending their lead to 13 with 12:17 remaining.
Godfrey Rolle made a layup about a minute later, but MWSU responded and pushed their lead to 14 with 9:31 to play in the first.
Maris Colton later scored a bucket, followed by a
Karim Mouliom three point play. A few minutes later, Mouliom stole the ball from the Griffons and drove it all the way down to court to finish with a dunk. The Griffons would take a 33-17 lead into halftime.
SBU came out of the break with some fire, scoring a layup in the first 20 seconds, but Western quickly responded making a three.
Maris Colton then made a three of his own, and
Quinn Nelson made two free throws to bring SBU back within 12. Following Nelson's free throws,
Chris Rossow hit a three, cutting the Griffon lead to single digits. Missouri Western then went on a small run, building their lead back up to 14, but it was Rossow and Colton again hitting three's. After their three's,
Quinn Nelson wanted in on the action, making a three of his own to cut MWSU's lead to 43-36 with 13:49 to go. The visitors responded well, building their lead back up to 14.
Karim Mouliom hit two free throws and
Tyler Williams made a layup, bringing the Bearcats within 10. The Griffons scored a basket, but
Quinn Nelson then successfully completed an and-one play to cut the Western lead to 9 once again. The Griffons would not let up, maintaining a double-digit lead for the rest of the game, finishing with a 71-85 score.
Quinn Nelson had a career high 21 points, shooting 6-10 from the field and 8-8 from the free throw line.
Karim Mouliom had another double-double, scoring 17 points and snagging 10 rebounds, as well as making 2 blocks and 3 steals.
Maris Colton was the other Bearcat in double digits with 10 points and 4 rebounds.
SBU will play their last home game on Saturday, February 23 against #1 ranked Northwest Missouri State, starting at 3:30 PM.
