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QUICK HITS
- Missouri Western has lost three in a row
- Griffons swept season series from SBU last year
- Southwest Baptist coming off MIAA opener loss to Northwest Missouri State
 
ST. JOSEPH – The Missouri Western Men's Basketball team looks to snap a three-game skid and pick up its first MIAA win of the season when the team travels to Bolivar, Missouri this weekend for a showdown with Southwest Baptist.
 
Missouri Western swept the season series from SBU last season, including a thrilling comeback win in Bolivar on Jan. 17. Missouri Western trailed by as many as 18 points in the second half of the game, eventually winning 65-64 on Aaron Emmanuel's layup with six seconds remaining in the game. Emmanuel's game winner was setup by an unconventional Southwest Baptist turnover. With 14 seconds remaining, SBU had an inbound pass deflect off Missouri Western head coach Brett Weiberg's arm while he was standing in the coaches box.
 
The Griffons are coming off a 74-59 loss at No. 12 Central Missouri to open MIAA play and sit 2-5 overall. Missouri Western won the second half of the game at Central Missouri, 35-30, but a 26-2 run to open the game by UCM was a deficit too large for the Griffons to overcome. It was Missouri Western's third straight loss after dropping two last weekend at the St. Mary's Thanksgiving Classic in San Antonio, Texas.
 
Missouri Western is led by Trey Sampson's 12.9 points per game. The junior is shooting 35 percent from the field and 34 percent from three-point range in his first season at MWSU. Aaron Emmanuel has finished with double-doubles in back-to-back games and has his season scoring average up to 11.8 points per game. The junior guard is also averaging a team-high 7.8 rebounds and 3.8 assists per contest. Another newcomer, Mataika Koyamainavure is the third Griffon averaging double-digits with a 10 point per game average. Kevin Thomas is averaging nine points and seven rebounds per game.
 
The Griffons are shooting 41.5 percent from the field and 33.7 percent from behind the arc with a70 percent free throw percentage. Missouri Western averages 73.9 points per game, while allowing 76.9. On the glass, the Griffons are even at 268 with opponents and have turned their opposition over three more times than they've given away.
 
Southwest Baptist is coming off a 73-50 loss at home to Northwest Missouri State on Thursday night. The Bearcats are now 4-2 on the season and 0-1 in MIAA play. SBU took a three-point lead to halftime but was outscored 26 in the second half, shooting just 23 percent from the field with six made field goals after the break. Southwest Baptist is led by Logan Hovey's 17.5 points per game. Hovey also leads the team with 13 rebounds per contest, but the sophomore forward has not played in either of his team's last two games. Brian Patterson averages 16.5 points and seven rebounds per game. Southwest Baptist is shooting 45 percent from the field, 42 percent from three-point range and 77 percent at the free throw line. The team averages 76.7 points per game, while giving up 76.8. SBU has proved susceptible to turnovers, giving the ball up 101 times in six games while turning opponents over just 59 times. On the glass, Southwest Baptist has dominated opponents, averaging 41.7 rebounds to its opponents' 28.2.