ST. JOSEPH, Mo. -- After a back-and-forth first half, Missouri Western opened up a 19-point second half lead and rolled to a 79-65 win over Central Missouri. Will Eames hit a career-high six three-pointers en route to 20 points to lead the Griffons to a 4-0 MIAA start for the second consecutive year.

Central Missouri scored first on a 15-foot jumper by Matt Todd, and after JaQuaylon Mays answered with a three for Missouri Western the teams swapped the lead twice more before the Mules managed to sustain a slim lead for most of the opening eight minutes.

After another Mays triple tied it at 16-16, Eames swiped the ball from Todd and passed it to JaRon Thames, who took it the length of the court to put Missouri Western in front. Central Missouri answered briefly, but after picking up a huge block, Eames connected on a pull-up jumper from 10 feet to spark an 8-2 Griffon spurt for a 26-20 lead.

Central Missouri responded with a 10-2 run of its own to take a short-lived 30-28 lead, but the Griffons closed out the half with a 14-5 run to go into the locker room with a 42-35 lead.

Missouri Western continued the run after the intermission, extending it to a 27-7 spurt and a 55-37 lead with 16:19 left in the game. Central Missouri was able to capitalize on a 10-minute shooting lull by the Griffons to pull within a 65-59 deficit, but after the media timeout Thames rekindled the MWSU offense with a pair of free throw makes after the Griffs had missed three of their previous four freebies.

The Griffons extended back to a 13-point lead on an Eames triple with 3:23 left and held on for a 14-point win.

Missouri Western takes its six-game winning streak and 4-0 MIAA start on the road next Saturday, traveling to Maryville to take on no 2 Northwest Missouri State. Tipoff is set for 3:30 p.m.