Devin Butler’s best scoring output of the season leads MoWest men’s hoops to road win at Northwest Missouri St.

By KQTV

Published January 31, 2026 9:26 pm

MoWest Athletics

RECAP COURTESY OF MOWEST ATHLETICS

MARYVILLE, Mo. – Griffon Men’s Basketball (14-8, 6-5 MIAA) were fueled by a big second half in a 84-65 win at Northwest Missouri State (10-12, 3-8 MIAA) on Saturday at Bearcat Arena in Maryville.

MoWest, who’s now taken four straight against the Bearcats, got off to a strong start at 13-4 with 12:28 left in the first half, which stretched to a 33-23 advantage with 4:13 to go before halftime.

Northwest made a run, tying the game at 35-35 with 1:21 to go in the first. However, an ‘and-one’ by William Kiburis with 58 seconds left gave MoWest a 38-35 lead at the break.

The Griffons never lost the lead in the second half, as Devin Butler scored 16 of his game-high 22 points in the final 20 minutes. A Butler three-pointer put the Griffs ahead by double figures at 64-54 with 9:40 left.

It was never close after that, as Northwest scored only nine points in the last nine minutes of the game. The Griffon defense limited the Bearcats to 39.3% shooting (11-of-28) in the second half, including just 3-of-11 (27.3%) from three.

MoWest scored 24 points off of 20 Northwest turnovers as well. The Griffons also forced a season-high 15 steals.

Behind Butler’s 22, a MoWest career-high for him, Marko Pavlovic finished with 14 points and seven rebounds. Kiburis had 13 points to go with a team-high eight rebounds and career-high five steals. Ty Henry and Gavin Hershberger each finished with 12 points. Hershberger also had five steals, four rebounds and three assists. Henry added six rebounds.

MoWest shot 50.8% (33-of-65) from the field and 5-of-20 (25%) from three while also making 13-of-17 (76.5%) at the foul line.

The Griffons are back home Thursday to battle Rogers State (14-7, 8-4 MIAA). Tip-off from MWSU Fieldhouse in St. Joseph is set for 7:30 p.m. The game will be broadcast live on the Griffon Sports Network (Varsity Network App, GoGriffons.com/listen) and available to stream on the MIAA Network.