Game 11 | Missouri Western at Lincoln
Thursday, December 9
7:30 p.m. | Jefferson City, Mo.

Griffon Sports Network
680 AM | 95.3 FM | 680kfeq.com/live-stream, opens in new tab
Broadcast Team
Tommy Rezac (@TommyKFEQ)
Danielle Sachse (@dsoxyy)

Broadcast - themiaanetwork.com/mwsugriffons, opens in new tab
Live Stats - lubluetigers.com/sidearmstats/mbball/, opens in new tab

The Coaches
Will Martin
2nd Season | 20-15 (.571)

Ed Wilson
1st Season | 1-5 (.167)

Thursday’s game will be the 50th meeting between Lincoln and Missouri Western, and although the Griffons hold a solid 36-13 edge in the previous meetings, recent trends have favored the Blue Tigers slightly. The Griffons have lost in three straight visits to Jefferson City, and have dropped eight of the last 13 games overall. Missouri Western last won in the state capitol on Feb. 22, 2018, an 82-73 win.

Lincoln has struggled under first year head coach Ed Wilson, with the only win for the Blue Tigers coming against NCCAA member Central Christian College of the Bible, a 101-55 victory on Nov. 30. Destan Williams leads the offense for Lincoln, averaging 10.0 points per game. Lincoln sharpshooter Ni’Sean Rigmaiden is just shy of the 10-point plateau with 9.8, but has hit at a 53.8 percent (21-39) rate from the floor and a 55.0 percent (11-20) pace from distance.

The Blue Tigers hold a razor-thin edge in rebounding over their opponents (34.5-34.3), with Derrick Woods (4.7 reb) and Chuck Wilson (4.2 reb) leading the team. Williams has dished a team-high 24 assists and added 11 steals on the year.

Caleb Bennett and JaQuaylon Mays led a half-dozen Griffons in double figures with 17 points each as Missouri Western picked up a 93-87 win over Northeastern State on Saturday. MWSU forced 16 Riverhawk turnovers on the night and added seven blocks.

Missouri Western came out firing on all cylinders, holding Northeastern State scoreless for the first 3:15 and running out to a 16-3 lead over the opening five minutes. The run was punctuated by a pair of Alex John dunks that put the Griffons up 10-0 with less than three minutes gone.

The Griffons easily held Northeastern State at arm’s length through the opening 20 minutes, shooting at a 56.8 perent (21-37) clip and taking a 51-41 lead into the locker room.

Back-to-back threes by Will Eames and Reese Glover in response to a jumper from NSU’s Emeka Obukwelu jumpstarted a 17-4 Missouri Western run that saw the Griffons open up a 23 point margin within the first four minutes of the second half.

After firing at a 61.1 percent (11-18) pace over the first 10 minutes of the second half, the Griffons struggled to find the mark down the stretch. Unlike earlier in the season, however, Missouri Western was able to hold off the late charge, with Mays knocking down one of two free throws in the final two seconds to seal the six-point win.

The third-seeded Missouri Western men’s basketball team rallied from a 17-point deficit in the quarterfinals of the MIAA Tournament to defeat Lincoln in overtime, 84-76, inside the MWSU Fieldhouse. With the win, the Griffons improved to 14-9 and advanced to the semifinals against No. 2 seed Washburn.

Missouri Western got off to a slow start as Lincoln used a 13-2 run after the Griffs scored the first basket of the game. The Griffons missed their first 11 three-point field goals and trailed by as many as 13 points in the first half and faced even more adversity. All-MIAA 2nd Team point guard Tyrell Carroll had to leave the game with an injury with 8:37 left in the first half and wasn’t able to return the rest of the game.

After a four-point spurt by Lincoln extended a 43-30 halftime deficit to 17 points, the Griffons started their comeback. Missouri Western went on a 16-4 run to get the deficit back to single digits, and hung close down the stretch. A jumper by Q Mays pulled Missouri Western within two, 63-61, with 3:17 left.

Trailing 70-66 with less than 20 seconds left, Will Eames was able to grab an offensive rebound after a miss and feed the ball to Reese Glover at the top of the key. Glover drew contact as he made a three-pointer with 7.9 second left in regulation, completing the four-point play to help MWSU force overtime by forcing a Lincoln turnover with 1.1 seconds left.

The Blue Tigers scored first in overtime, but Missouri Western took command with an 8-0 run and a 14-6 edge in the added frame.

With the upset of RV/#17 Oklahoma Baptist to open the Hillyard Tip-Off Classic, Will Martin collected his fourth victory over a ranked team in his young tenure. The Griffons are 4-2 against teams ranked in the top 25 under Will Martin, and 2-0 in regular season games against top-10 foes.
Jan. 9, 2021 - W 74-67 vs. #5 Washburn
Feb. 6, 2021 - L 70-64 at #3 Northwest Mo. St.
Feb. 9, 2021 - L 79-56 vs. #3 Northwest Mo. St.
Feb. 19, 2021 - W 81-77 at #15 Washburn
Nov. 7, 2021 - W 93-82 vs. #8/#12 St. Thomas Aquinas
Nov. 19, 2021 - W 74-71 vs. RV/#17 Oklahoma Baptist

Missouri Western finished third in the MIAA last year, their highest finish in the league since a second-place finish in 2002-2003. The Griffons finished fourth in 2010 and 2020.

For the second straight year, Missouri Western has the opportunity to start the conference slate 3-0. The Griffons started the 2020-21 season 4-0, with wins at Rogers State (68-55 OT), against Lincoln (89-73), against Central Missouri (100-81) and at Northeastern State (103-82) before dropping their fifth conference game to Pittsburg State (87-84) on the road.

Before 2020-21, the last time Missouri Western opened league play with three wins was the 1998-99 season. The Griffons downed Central Missouri 84-71 at home then picked up road wins at Truman (71-67) and Missouri-Rolla (76-59) before falling 75-53 at Washburn.

Missouri Western returned to the win column in overtime against William Jewell, after dropping both of their previous forays into the extra five minute period (83-77 vs. RV Embry-Riddle; 81-77 vs. Henderson State) this year.

It marks the third overtime win under head coach Will Martin, as the Griffons won both of their bonus basketball outings (68-55 at Rogers State, 84-76 vs. Lincoln) on the 2020-21 slate.

With makes in all 10 contests to open the season, Missouri Western continues to extend its school record with 497 consecutive games with a made three-pointer. The last time MWSU didn’t make a three-point field goal in a game was February 4, 2004 at Emporia State when the Griffons went 0-of-7 in a 70-53 loss to the Hornets.

Over the stretch, Missouri Western has shot a respectable 34.3 percent (3755-10962) from distance. The best overall shooting percentage for the Griffons during the 19-season span is a 37.4 percent (2010-11; 246-657) pace.

Missouri Western finished No. 2 in the MIAA in three-point field goal percentage defense at 33.8% last year. Through 10 games this season, the Griffons have tightened up, allowing just 29.5% shooting from downtown.