Missouri Western (7-7, 3-3 MIAA) vs. Lindenwood University (9-4, 2-3 MIAA)
Wednesday, January 16, 2013
St. Joseph, Mo. - MWSU Fieldhouse - 7:30 pm
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Missouri Western (7-8, 3-4 MIAA) @ Emporia State University (6-7, 1-4 MIAA)
Sunday, January 20, 2013
Emporia, Kan. - White Auditorium - 3:30 pm
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The Missouri Western men's basketball team, will continue MIAA play this week with a pair of games. The Griffons will host MIAA newcomer Lindenwood University on Wednesday, January 16 before opening up a three game road swing at Emporia State on Sunday, January 20. Game time for Wednesday in the fieldhouse is set for 7:30 pm and on Sunday in Emporia is 3:30 pm.

Griffon Notes
• This marks the 43rd season of Griffons men's basketball
• Head Coach Tom Smith is in his 25th season overall at Missouri Western and 38th season overall as a head coach at the collegiat level...Smith has won 615 career games with 444 coming at Missouri Western. He announced on Wednesday, December 5, 2012 that he will be retiring at the end of the 2012-2013 season.
• The Griffons closed out its three game road swing with a 75-64 victory over Nebraska-Kearney on Wednesday evening. The Griffons finished the road swing with two victories.  
• Griffon point guard Adarius Fulton has been playing outstanding the last few games...he is had a career night in the Griffons victory over Nebraska-Kearney where he scored 23 points and had seven steals...He followed that performance up with an 11 points performance in the Griffons 71-58 victory over #24 Northwest Missouri State last Saturday. He has scored in double figures in four straight games and five of the last six.
• Griffon post Alfreeman Flowers has also played very well as of late colleting his first double-double last Wednesday evening with 12 points and 12 rebounds against UNK...Flowers has scored in double digits in four straight games which included 10 off the bench in the Griffons victory over #24 Northwest Missouri State last Saturday.
• Dating back to last season the Griffons have lost 13 MIAA games by 10 points or less which includes two of its three losses this season. The Griffons fell to Truman State 71-69 and Fort Hays State 84-74 in overtime.
• The Griffons have lost five of its seven games by 10 points or less and three of them by four points or less.
• In six of its seven victories this season the Griffons have had three or more players score in double figures. In its last victory the Griffons had five players score in double figures.
• In three of its seven victories the Griffons have had 10 or more steals. They have 12 against UNK and 10 against NWMSU in last week's victories.
• The last time the Griffons won three of four MIAA games with two being on the road was in the 2010-2011 season. The Griffons defeated Liincoln (76-73) and Truman State (78-63) on the road and UCM (91-72) at home. That was also the last time they won three straight MIAA games. The dates were (January 8, 12 & 15, 2011)
• The Griffons were picked to finish 11th in the MIAA coaches preseason poll and 12th in the MIAA media preseason poll.

Coaches vs. Each Program - LWU:
This marks the first meeting for both coaches.

Series vs. the LWU:
Wednesday's meeting will be the first meeting between the two schools.

Coaches vs. Each Program - ESU:
Head Coach Tom Smith is 30-15 all-time against the Hornets and 16-5 at home against the Hornets. Smith is 1-0 on a neutral court and 13-10 in Emporia, Kan. at White Auditorium. Head Coach Shawn Vandiver is in is first season with the Hornets and it will mark the second meeting between the two coaches. He won his first ever game against the Griffons 59-57 on December 3, 2011 in St. Joseph and then fell 72-66 on January 25, 2012 in Emporia. The Griffons won the only MIAA Tournament game between the two schools on March 5, 2004 by a score of 86-80.

The Series vs. the Hornets:
Missouri Western holds the series edge 41-28 , but are 16-17 in games played in Emporia. MWSU has won four of the last five games against the Hornets in the fieldhouse but have lost the last five of the last six in Emporia. Missouri WesternWestern holds a 25-10 lead in games play in the fieldhouse. This will be the 70th meeting between the Hornets and the Griffons. MWSU is looking for back-to-back victories in Emporia for the first time since January 9, 2002 and February 5, 2003.

Griffon Wins Against Top-25 Ranked Teams:
Since 2001-2002 the Griffons have defeated 14 teams that were ranked in the top-25 which includes their biggest upset yet on Dec. 7 in the fieldhouse when they defeated No. 1 Missouri Southern 75-67.
01/12/13 vs. #24 Northwest Missouri State - 71-58
12/7/11 vs. #1 Missouri Southern - W, 75-67
12/11/10 vs. #6 Fort Hays State - W, 78-77
02/01/10 vs. #3 Fort Hays State - W, 75-69
02/24/09 vs. #2 Central Missouri - W, 55-49
12/18/09 vs. #12 Drury - W, 91-84 in High Desert Classic in Las Vegas
11/21/09 vs. #17 Central Oklahoma - W, 83-79 in Hillyard Tipoff Classic
2/19/05 @ #6 Central Missouri - W, 70-68
12/29/04 vs. #6 Washburn - W, 73-70
1/29/03 @ #18 Washburn - W, 68-67
1/23/02 vs. #13 Missouri Southern - W, 80-73
1/2/02 @ #4 Washburn - W, 95-92
1/30/02 vs. #11 Washburn - W, 73-71
2/4/02 @ #3 Northwest Missouri State - W, 64-59

Up Next
The Griffons will continue a three game road swing next Wednesday, January 23 when they take on the University of Central Missouri Mules in Warrensburg, Mo. Game time is set for 7:30 pm from the UCM Multipurpose Building. This will most likely be the last time MWSU coach Tom Smith coaches at UCM. Smith began his coaching career at UCM from 1975-1980.