COLUMBUS, Miss. – Mississippi University for Women men's basketball came within a whisker of giving St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SLIAC) leader Greenville University a taste of its own medicine, eventually losing a 119-112 donnybrook at Pohl Gym. The Owls fell to 7-16 (3-13 SLIAC) in the must-win game versus the Panthers (16-7, 12-4 SLIAC).
 
The loss to Greenville made it mathematically impossible for The W to finish in the No. 6 – and final – spot for the SLIAC post-season tournament, with just two games remaining in the regular season.
 
But MUW did not go down without a furious fight against the Panthers' shoot-now-and-play-defense-later style offense. That was evidenced by a total of eight ties and 14 lead changes versus GC, buoyed by a boisterous home crowd that included a 70-plus contingent of students from Ruleville Middle School, celebrating their recent academic achievements by taking in the Owls' game.
 
The W led for 21 minutes of game time, while Greenville held the upper hand for 14 minutes. The Owls tallied 70 points in the paint, often on a quick transition layup after one of the Panthers' 29 missed three-point shots (46 total attempts from long-range).
 
The two teams were knotted at 56-56 at the intermission. With 15:29 remaining to be played, MUW had its largest lead of the game, 12 points, at 75-63, on a layup by sophomore Josh Dukes (18 points). The W still led by eight, 100-92, with 6:48 left, but GU would close the game on a 27-12 run to take the win.
 
Sophomore guard Tarik Islamovic (Tuzla, Bosnia & Herzegovina) came off of the Owls' bench to top all scorers with 22 points. Islamovic went 5-for-14 from the floor, but converted 12-of-12 free throw tries. He also had six rebounds.
 
Senior Brye Hopkins capped his final home appearance as an Owl with 18 points, making good on 9-of-11 field goal attempts.  He also had five rebounds and four assists.
 
Chris Evans matched Dukes' and Hopkins' 18 points, while also dishing off a game-leading eight assists. Evans corralled six rebounds, as well.
 
Dariun Doss and Isaiah Ball each chipped in 13 points to give MUW six, double-digit scorers in the loss. Doss shared game-high honors with nine rebounds, while Ball grabbed eight caroms (seven on the defensive glass). Ball also made three steals.
 
The W out-rebounded the Panthers by a 52-44 margin and outshot the guests from the floor, 56-to-42 percent.