St. Joseph Post
The Missouri Western men's basketball team (14-9) rallied from a 17-point deficit to defeat Lincoln in overtime, 84-76, at the MWSU Fieldhouse on Wednesday night in the quarterfinals of the MIAA Tournament.
The No. 3 seed Griffons now advance to the semifinals on Friday, and they'll play No. 2 seed Washburn at 7:30 p.m. at Bearcat Arena.
Northwest Missouri State is the host of the semifinals and the championship of the MIAA Tournament.
Missouri Western got off to a slow start Wednesday, as Lincoln used an early 13-2 run and led for the next 37.5 minutes.
The Griffons missed their first 11 three-point attempts, and the Blue Tigers led by as many as 13 points in the first half.
On top of that, All-MIAA 2nd Team point guard Tyrell Carroll had to leave the game in the first half with an injury and did not return.
Head coach Will Martin said Carroll is mostly day-to-day at this point with a sprained ankle.
Lincoln led 43-30 at halftime, and scored the first four points of the second half to build a 17-point advantage and force a Missouri Western timeout.
The Griffons then started their comeback, and immediately went on a 16-4 run and only trailed 51-46 with 11:37 to go.
Junior Q Mays, who had a monster night for the Griffons with a career-high 32 points after stepping in for an injured Carroll, hit a jump-shot that pulled Missouri Western within two, 63-61, with 3:17 left.
"You saw tonight that our team can respond and the next man up can step up," Martin said of Mays' performance.
Trailing 70-66 with 20 seconds left, Will Eames grabbed an offensive rebound after a missed three, and he got the ball to Reese Glover, who drew a foul and made a three-pointer with 7.9 second left in regulation to pull within one. Glover made the free throw to tie the game at 70 and force overtime.
The Blue Tigers scored the first two points of OT, but Missouri Western took command with an 8-0 run to take the lead and they'd never look back. Western outscored Lincoln 14-6 in overtime to complete the comeback.
After having to rally from a 15-point deficit to beat Nebraska-Kearney this past Saturday, Martin said going through that experience was extremely helpful in Wednesday's game.
"And I said, 'We're still in this. We've been here,'" Martin said. "'We've got to get stops, and we've got to be locked in. I need everybody on board.' And they were."
Glover finished with 14 points. Caleb Bennett added 14 points, seven rebounds and three assists.
Missouri Western finished the game 13-of-39 from the three-point line after missing their first 11. They shot just 38.2% (26-68) from the field but they outrebounded Lincoln 42-36, including 14-6 on the offensive glass.
On Friday, Northwest Missouri State plays No. 5 seed Central Oklahoma in the first semifinal at 5:00 p.m. at Bearcat Arena.
UCO beat Missouri Southern, 109-101 Wednesday, which helps Missouri Western's chances of making the NCAA tournament immensely.
The Griffons will then play No. 2 seed Washburn for the third time this season at 7:30 p.m. Friday. Washburn defeated Rogers State, 78-59, in their semifinal Wednesday.
Friday's game between Western and Washburn will be carried on KFEQ Radio (680 AM, 95.3 FM) with coverage starting at 7:05.