By TOMMY REZAC
St. Joseph Post
KANSAS CITY - Missouri Western men's basketball got down by 17 points at halftime and never recovered in an 80-52 loss to No. 1 seed Northwest Missouri State in MIAA tournament quarterfinals on Thursday night at Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City.
The Griffons (17-13) shot a respectable 48.8% from the field, but Northwest (25-4) shot 55.2%, including 9-of-16 from three. The Bearcats made 32 field goals, while Western made 21.
Missouri Western went 1-for-10 from long range Thursday, while Northwest was 6-of-8 from three in the second half alone.
What's more, the Bearcats dominated the rebounding 33-19, including 14-5 on the offensive glass. Northwest scored 24 second chance points on those boards.
The Griffons had just five assists to 12 turnovers, while Northwest doled out 17 assists to only eight giveaways.
Wes Dreamer led the attack with 22 points on a 4-of-5 clip from downtown. Daniel Abrieu was dominant with a season-high 20 points on 9-of-13 shooting. He also had seven rebounds.
Taye Fields was sound for Missouri Western, leading the way with 20 points on 9-of-12 shooting. Julius Dixon was second in scoring with eight points.
The Griffons end the season with their most wins since the 2019-20 campaign. It's the first winning season since 2020-21 and just the fifth winning season since 2003 - the last time Western won the MIAA tournament title.
Northwest, winners of 14 straight games and 26 of the last 27 against the Griffons, advance to MIAA tournament semifinals to face either Washburn or Rogers State on Saturday at 6 p.m.
Northwest is going for its eight MIAA tournament title in the last nine years.
Full audio broadcast
Jon Hood postgame
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