Last second shot by William Kiburis gives MoWest men’s hoops a wild MIAA Quarterfinal win over Arkansas-Fort Smith
RECAP COURTESY OF MOWEST ATHLETICS
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – No. 4 seed Griffon Men's Basketball (21-10, 12-7 MIAA) secured a dramatic win on a driving layup by William Kiburis defeating No. 5 seed Arkansas-Fort Smith (20-9, 11-8 MIAA) 73-72 Friday night at Municipal Auditorium.
MWSU came out firing to start the game, jumping out to a 9-2 lead and forcing a quick UAFS timeout at the 17:36 mark. The Griffons pushed their advantage to their largest lead of the first half at 14-4 with 16:06 remaining in the half. Arkansas-Fort Smith battled back, cutting the deficit to 30-26 at the 4:03 mark after knocking down a three-pointer. The Lions attempted a deep three at the buzzer and were sent to the foul line, making it 35-31 at halftime in a very physical and fast-paced opening half.
MWSU opened the second half much like the first, going on a 9-0 run to begin the period and forcing another UAFS timeout at the 16:55 mark. A Ty Henry three-pointer capped the run and gave the Griffons a 44-31 lead its largest lead of the game. The Lions again responded, chipping away at the deficit and cutting the MWSU lead to 48-45 with 11:39 remaining. Bode Goodman answered with a quick five-point stretch to push the Griffons back in front 52-45. With 6:55 to play, UAFS tied the game at 58-58 with a three-pointer. The two teams then traded baskets, leaving the score tied at 62-62 with 3:24 remaining in the game.
UAFS took a 72-71 lead with 5.4 seconds remaining on a contested jumper. William Kiburis answered immediately, driving the length of the floor and finishing a contested layup to lift MWSU to a 73-72 victory.
Marko Pavlovic led MWSU with 22 points on 8-of-12 shooting while adding six rebounds, three blocks, and one steal in 36 minutes.
Kiburis finished with 13 points, seven rebounds, three steals, and two blocks in 34 minutes of action.
MWSU shot 25-58 (43.1%) from the field, 3-21 (14.3%) from three-point range, and 20-26 (76.9%) from the free throw line.
UAFS shot 27-64 (42.2%) from the field, 6-22 (27.3%) from three-point range, and 12-20 (60.0%) from the free throw line.
What's Next
No. 4 seeded Griffon Men's Basketball will take on the No. 1 seeded Washburn Ichabods in the MIAA Semifinals on Saturday, March 7 at 6:00 p.m. at Municipal Auditorium.
