ST. JOSEPH – Freshman Reese Glover hit one shot all night and it was likely the biggest for the Missouri Western men's basketball team. The Griffons (7-8) are now 3-1 in the MIAA and 5-0 in the MWSU Fieldhouse after a 76-71 overtime win over Northeastern State (9-5, 2-3) Monday night.
Glover's 3-pointer with six seconds left in regulation sent the game to overtime. The guard was 0 for 6 from the field when he knocked down the game-tying shot. Missouri Western took over in OT, scoring 14 points and limiting the RiverHawks to nine. The Griffons scored nine of their overtime points at the free throw line, missing just one shot in the extra period after going 7 for 13 through the first two halves.
Up by one at the half, the Griffons quickly found themselves trailing in the second after a hot start by Northeastern State. A dramatic final nine minutes saw the teams trade the lead back and forth before Glover's clutch shot. Northeastern State led by eight with 15 minutes to go in regulation, but MWSU chipped away, taking its first lead since halftime on a Will Eames and-1 with 8:34 to go.
MWSU jumped ahead in overtime before Caleb Smith knocked down a 3-pointer to tie the game at 66 with 3:20 to go in the extra period. Tyrell Carroll answered to put the Griffs up for good with 1:46 to go, 69-66.
NOTABLES
- MWSU is off to its best conference start since the 2009-10 season when the Griffons started MIAA play 4-1.
- The win left the Griffons tied for second in the MIAA standings with Northwest Missouri State.
- The Griffons are 5-0 at home after winning two home games last year and four the previous season. It's the best home start for the program since the 2014-15 season when the team also started 5-0. The five home wins are the most for the program since the 2015-16 season (10-5).
- The game featured seven lead changes and was tied eight different times.
- Northeastern State led for close to 24 minutes with the Griffons leading for a little more than 14 minutes. Neither team ever led by more than eight points.
- The Griffons shot 90% at the free throw line in overtime after shooting 54% in regulation.
- Caleb Smith (24) and Kendrick Thomas (20) took 44 of Northeastern State's 67 shots and scored 52 of the RiverHawks' points.
- Tyrell Carroll led MWSU with 23 points on 50% shooting from the field. Carroll also led MWSU with nine assists.
- Will Eames posted a double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds. He scored six of his points at the free throw line on nine attempts.
- Tyree Martin pulled down a career-high 14 rebounds, seven on the offensive glass while scoring nine points and blocking two shots.
- Tyus Millhollin went 4 of 7 from 3-point range and scored 14 points.
UP NEXT
Missouri Western begins a three-game road swing with a trip to Washburn (7-5, 2-1, Thursday night.
--- MWSU Athletics ---