Missouri Western (9-16, 5-12 MIAA) vs. Southwest Baptist (9-16, 7-10 MIAA)
Saturday, March 2, 2013 - Senior Day - Final Regular Season Game for Tom Smith
St. Joseph, Mo. - MWSU Fieldhouse - 3:30 pm
MWSU Game Notes I Listen Live I Live Stats  | Watch Live

The Missouri Western men's basketball will close out the regular season at home against the Southwest Baptist Bearcats on Saturday, March 2. The men will honor two seniors along with head coach Tom Smith before the game (Dylan Frantz and Alex Tuluka-Mfumupembe) as they play and coach their final regular season home game. Tip time is set for 3:30 pm from the MWSU Fieldhouse.

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 collegiate level...Smith has won 617 career games with 445 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 have struggled latley losing eight of its last 11 but did defeat its second ranked team a couple weeks ago defeating #17 Washburn 79-74 on the road.  The Griffons are 2-1 this season against top-25 team defeating #24 Northwest Missouri State 71-58 on January 12 at home. They fell to #25 Washburn 56-52 in overtime last week
• Before sitting out three games with a concussion Griffon point guard Adarius Fulton has been playing outstanding the last few games...he 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 earlier this season. He scored 17 against Central Missouri and 17 against Lincoln.  He has scored in double figures in six of his last nine games.
• Griffon post Alfreeman Flowers has also played very well as of late colleting his first double-double with 12 points and 12 rebounds against UNK...Flowers has scored in double digits in six of 15 games which included 10 in the Griffons loss at home against WU and 12 off the bench at Washburn. He had 10 off the bench in the Griffons victory over #24 Northwest Missouri State.
• Dating back to last season the Griffons have lost 18 MIAA games by 10 points or less which includes 10 of its 16 losses this season.
• The Griffons have lost 10 of its 16 games by 10 points or less and five of them by four points or less.
• In seven of its nine victories this season the Griffons have had three or more players score in double figures. In its victory against Northwest Missouri State the the Griffons had five players score in double figures and against Washburn the Griffons had six in double figures.
• In four of its nine victories the Griffons have had 10 or more steals. They had 12 against UNK and Washburn and 10 against NWMSU earlier this season.
• The Griffons will honor two seniors on Saturday as Dylan Frantz and Alex Tuluka-Mfumupembe will play their last home game of their career. It will also be the last time coach Smith coaches in the MWSU Fieldhouse.
• 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 - SBU:
Head Coach Tom Smith is 30-16 all-time against the Bearcats while Jeff Guiot is 12-6 against the Griffons.

Series vs. the SBU:
The Griffons lead the all-time series with the Bearcats 44-29 which includes 30-10 in the MWSU Fieldhouse. The Griffons trail 19-12 in Bolivar and lead 2-0 on a neutral floor. The Griffons are 4-0 against the Bearcats in the MIAA Tournament and 1-0 in the NAIA District 16 Tournament.

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.
02/06/13 @ #17 Washburn - 79-74
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 have to wait and see if they will make the MIAA tournament. With a win they will get in and with a loss they will have to wait and see.