ST. JOSEPH, Mo. -- The last time Missouri Western played on its home court, the Griffons punched their ticket to the NCAA tournament with a big win in the MIAA Tournament. Eight months later, the Griffons picked up another statement win on Friday night, outlasting RV/#17 Oklahoma Baptist 74-71.
Will Eames led all scorers with 22 points on the night, with
JaQuaylon Mays adding 17 and
Alex John knocking home 10.
The game got off to a very sluggish start, with neither team able to establish a rhythm or momentum over the first five minutes. Missouri Western would make the first extended surge of the contest, taking an 18-13 lead with 9:48 to go on the back of an 11-3 run sparked by three buckets from Eames.
Oklahoma Baptist was able to respond briefly, holding Missouri Western to 0-5 shooting over a three-minute span to retake the lead 21-18 with 6:08 in the half. The lead was short-lived, however, as the Griffons returned the favor defensively, allowing the Bison just two makes in seven attempts down the stretch.
Missouri Western capped off a 16-5 run to end the half as Mays found Reece Glover wide open for an NBA-length triple with 14 seconds on the clock. The Griffons took a 34-26 lead into the locker room and held the Bison at arm's length the entire second half. OBU was able to close the gap to one briefly with 15:25 left, but Eames knocked down a dagger three on the next possession to keep it a two-possession game.
A three-point play with 3:32 on the clock seemed to finally tip the momentum fully in favor of Missouri Western, as Mays found John in a crowd of Bison in the lane. The sophomore elevated through the collapsing crush of four OBU players swarming him and emphatically slammed the ball home. He calmly sank the free throw after drawing contact to put MWSU up 64-56.
Oklahoma Baptist was able to narrow the gap over the final three minutes, but never seemed to seriously threaten the Griffons.
Missouri Western shot 47.4 percent (27-57) from the floor and a solid 42.1 percent (8-19) from beyond the arc. The Griffons also made the most of their free throws, sinking 12 of 15 (80.0%) on the night. Defensively, MWSU held the Bison to 43.8 percent (28-64) shooting - 33.3 percent (7-21) from three - and the Bison hit just 72.7 percent (8-11) from the line.
The Griffons take on a stout UMSL squad on Saturday to close out the Hillyard Tip-Off Classic. The Tritons pushed no. 1-ranked Northwest Missouri State to the brink in the opener, leading for the majority of the first half before running out of steam and falling 78-65. Tip off is set for 6 p.m.
