BOLIVAR, Mo. – Truman State got within five of Southwest Baptist (Mo.) with less than three minutes to play but the rally fell short in an 84-72 conference defeat Thursday.
 
The Bulldogs could not find a solution to Southwest Baptist's Drenin Dinkins as the junior guard led all scorers with a season-high 30 points including 10-10 from the free throw line. Dinkins tallied 17 points in the first half on 5-7 shooting from the field with three made behind the three-point arc. The Bearcats won the battle on the glass, 38-25, and held an 18-4 advantage in second chance points.
 
Sophomore guard Kobi Williams led the charge for the 'Dogs with 16 points while grabbing five boards. Junior guard Xavier Hall, with 13 points on the night, notched a game-high seven assists while redshirt junior forward Landon Eiland and sophomore forward Matt Haefner contributed six rebounds each.
 
A triple from Hall gave Truman State a 3-2 lead with 18:39 to play in the first half before a 13-3 Bearcat run over the next five minutes dropped the Bulldogs to a nine-point deficit. After trailing 49-34 at half, and finding themselves down 20 with 18:15 remaining, the Purple and White rattled off a 15-3 run of their own to cut the lead to ten at 13 minutes remaining. Twice the 'Dogs came within five down the stretch but could not narrow the gap in the game's final three minutes.
 
Truman State, now 4-4 overall, looks for its first Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) win of the season against two losses at 3 p.m. Saturday at Drury (Mo.) in Springfield. Southwest Baptist climbs to 4-3 on the campaign and 2-1 in GLVC action.