KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Wrapping up quarterfinal action at the 2025 MIAA Men’s Basketball Championship was No. 5 Pittsburg State’s dominant win over No. 4 Nebraska Kearney while a last-second shot sent No. 3 Rogers State to the semifinals over No. 6 Missouri Western in Municipal Auditorium in downtown Kansas City. 

GAME ONE:  No. 5 Pittsburg State 96, No. 4 Nebraska Kearney 63 (Box Score)
After being tied at 12-12 with 12:30 left in the first, No. 5 Pittsburg State went on a 17-4 run in the span of five minutes and continued to build up its lead to 38-19 with under five to go. Eleven straight Loper points got it within single digits at 38-30, but PSU closed out the first half with another run to extend it to 46-30, helping carry them to an eventual 96-63 victory.

The high-scoring PSU total was backed by a tournament-high 39 points from MIAA Player of the Year Jordan Frison. Johannes Kirsipuu was the only other player to finish in double figures at 16 but all eight Gorillas who scored in the contest nabbed four or more points. They shot 55.9 percent (33-for-59) from the field, 41.7 percent (10-for-24) from the arc and 83.3 percent (20-for-24) from the charity stripe. In addition, Pittsburg State outrebounded UNK 44 to 29.

The Lopers finished with 33.9 (20-for-59) percent field shooting and had three players collect 10+ points as Ja’Bryant Hill had 17, Allen Taylor with 15 and Kendrick Gillbert’s 10.

The Gorillas advance to meet up with No. 8 Central Oklahoma in semifinals action beginning at 12 p.m. on Saturday, March 8. 

GAME TWO: No. 3 Rogers State 59, No. 6 Missouri Western 56 (Box Score)
A back-and-forth contest for the final semifinal spot featured nine lead changes and six ties in the first half as Rogers State held a single point 29-28 lead. Another four lead changes and five more ties brought the game down to the wire with 4.6 seconds left at a draw of 56-56. Rogers State Jabryn Anderson nailed a three point buzzer beater to send the Hillcats onto the next round. Neither team led by more than five in the entire contest and both shot less than 50 percent in a defensive battle. 

Four Hillcats finished in double figures as they were led by Sam Davidson’s 14 points, followed by Anderson with 13, and two 10-pieces from Andrew Mason and Caden Fry.

Missouri Western’s Zane Nelson led all scorers with 16 points as Zion Swader chipped in 13 himself. 

Rogers State will be back in action to take on No. 2 Fort Hays State at 2:15 p.m. on Saturday, March 8. 

To view today’s quarterfinal results and check out the semifinal schedule tomorrow, visit the Championship Central page.