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ST. JOSEPH, Mo. - The Griffon Men look to turn a four-game home stand into three wins when defending national champion Central Missouri comes to the fieldhouse Wednesday night. Both teams are coming off losses, with MWSU falling to Pittsburg State last Saturday and Central Missouri fresh off an overtime loss to Emporia State. In addition to the game, the first 100 students will receive free pizza and four lucky fans will step into the Commerce Bank cash machine for a chance to stuff as many bills in their pockets as they can before the buzzer sounds.Â
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THE GRIFFONS
Missouri Western returns to the court after falling 63-61 to Pittsburg State on a last second shot. The Griffons had two straight wins beforeSaturday's loss.
The Griffons rely on
Cortrez Colbert, leading the way with 14.4 points per game and converting on 78 percent of his free throws. MWSU has also benefitted from the emergence of freshman guard
Cole Clearman, who is averaging 14.7 points per game in his last four games.
Kevin Thomas continues to lead the team in rebounding, averaging five per game.
Missouri Western is averaging 69.4 points per game on the offensive end, while the opponent scores a average of 68.7 points per game. Depth has been crucial for the Griffons success with nine players averaging over 14 minutes per game. Defensively, the Griffons have been able to create an average of 7.8 steals per game.
CENTRAL MISSOURI MULES
No. 25 Central Missouri comes to the MWSU Fieldhouse after falling to Emporia State in overtime 84-78.
Rakeem Dickerson leads the team with 13.4 points per game, ranking him 15th in the conference in scoring. He has also dished out 78 assist this season which places in him second in the MIAA. Five other players average over eight points per game for the Mules with their second leading scorer coming off the bench.Â
Dillon Deck has accumulated 21 blocks this season ranking him fifth in the conference. The Mules lead the conference in shooting percentage, hitting 51% of their shoots, which translates into 77.4 points per game. Central Missouri averages 34.6 rebounds per game and holds a +4.7 margin over opponents.Â
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LAST YEAR'S MEETING
MWSU 57, #19 UCM 80 at St. Joseph, Mo. on Feb. 26, 2014
The Missouri Western men's basketball team got outscored 40-14 in the paint and 48-31 in the second half falling 80-57 against the #19 Central Missouri Mules. The Griffons were led by senior
Kalvin Balque with 15 points making 8-of-9 free throw attempts.
Ryan Devers and Marquardt dumped in 13 and 12 points respectively as Devers led the charge on the boards with six rebounds.
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COMING UP
The Griffons hit the road with a trip to Southwest BaptistÂ
on Saturday. The teams return homeÂ
Jan. 24Â to take on Missouri Southern. That morning, Griffon Softball will host the Fitness Fun Fest in the Griffon Indoor Sports Complex. The annual event was formerly known as Zumba in the Room-ba. This year, it will feature several different fitness disciplines with proceeds benefiting the YWCA Choices program and Griffon Softball. For more information, go toÂ
gogriffons.com.
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