No. 3 seed Missouri Western will square off against No. 2 Washburn in the semifinals of the MIAA Tournament in Maryville, Missouri Friday at 7:30 p.m. inside Bearcat Arena.  Top-seeded Northwest Missouri State will host the semifinals and championship game this season as they face No. 5 Central Oklahoma in the other semifinal at 5:00 p.m.

The Griffons, who have won six of their last seven games, advanced to the semifinals for a second straight season after rallying from a 17-point deficit in the second half Wednesday to defeat Lincoln in OT, 84-76, in the MIAA Quarterfinals.  Q Mays scored a career-high 32 points for MWSU as he also had eight rebounds and three assists.  Caleb Bennett and Reese Glover, who made a four-point play with 7.9 seconds left in regulation to tie the game Wednesday, added 14 points each.  

Washburn is now 17-6 this season after defeating Rogers State in the quarterfinals at Lee Arena, 78-59.  The Ichabods are led by 2-time First Team All-MIAA guard Tyler Geiman, as he's averaging 21.1 points, 6.6 rebounds and 6.2 assists pe game.  Jalen Lewis (12.6) and Tyler Nelson (11.6) also averaged double figures for WU.  Washburn is second in the MIAA in scoring (81.8), three-point FG% (40.2%), turnovers per game (11.7) and field goal percentage defense (44.0%).  Brett Ballard is in his fourth season as head coach of the Ichabods and he's 79-39 and 56-23 in the MIAA.

Washburn leads the all-time series 55-42, including a 2-1 mark at neutral sites, but Missouri Western has won the last four meetings against the Ichabods.  They won the regular season finale last season at home, defeated WU in the MIAA Quarterfinals last year and have won the first two games this season.  The Griffons defeated then no. 5 Washburn on January 9, 74-67, in St. Joseph and they beat then no. 15 Washburn on February 18, 81-77, in Topeka.  This four-game streak equals the longest win streak for MWSU in the series against Washburn.

MWSU IN THE MIAA TOURNAMENT
The Griffons are 27-22 all-time in this history of the MIAA Tournament.  MWSU is back in the semifinals for a second straight season, which is the first time they've done that since 2009 and 2010.  MWSU fell to Northwest in the semi's last season and they're 7-8 all-time in the semifinal round of the MIAA Tournament.  The last win in the semi's came in 2009 against Fort Hays State.  This is the Griffons 27th all-time appearance in this event and they've won four titles, the last coming in 2003.

BACK IN THE SEMIFINALS
The Griffons are in the semifinals for the second straight season after falling to No. 1 Northwest last year in Kansas City.  This the first time MWSU has made back-to-back semifinal appearances since 2009 and 2010, and they're looking for their first win in the semi's since defeating Fort Hays State, 69-62, in 2009.

GRIFFS VS. BODS IN THE TOURNEY
Missouri Western is 6-3 all-time against Washburn in the MIAA Tournament, including a 2-1 mark in neutral site games.  The Griffons have won the last two meetings.  They defeated the Ichabods in the Quarterfinals last season, 72-70, and upset Washburn on their home floor in the first round of the 2016 tournament, 70-54.

GRIFFS VS. BODS IN THE SEMIS
The Griffons and Ichabods and played four times in the MIAA Tournament Semifinals, and the two teams have split those four games.  Washburn won 56-43 in KC in 2010, MWSU won homes games in 2002 (75-60) and 1998 (66-56).  The Ichabods won a final four game in Topeka in 1994, 105-99.

BACK IN THE TOP 3 IN THE MIAA
Missouri Western finished third in the MIAA this season, which is their highest finish in the league since the 2002-2003 season when they finished second.  Prior to this year, the highest finish in the MIAA was fourth, as they did that in 2010 and 2020.

SCORING MORE CONSISTENTLY
Missouri Western is fifth in the MIAA in scoring at 79.4 points per game and they've now scored 71 or more in nine of their last 10 games.  They're averaging 80.2 points over their last 10 after putting up just 68.8 points per game over the previous six games.

STARTING TO CONNECT FROM DEEP
The Griffons have made 10 or more three-point field goals in six of their last 10 games after doing that just once in their first 13 games.  Over this nine-game stretch, Missouri Western has shot 37.6% (100-266) from three-point range after shooting just 29.7% (91-306) from behind the arc in their first 13 games.  They were last in the MIAA after those 13 games and are now 13th in the league.

CONSECUTIVE GAMES MAKING A 3
Missouri Western made 13 three-point field goals against Lincoln in the first round to extend a school record with their 485th consecutive game 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. 

DEFENDING THE ARC
MWSU is No. 1 in the MIAA in three-point field goal percentage defense at 32.5%, while the Griffons are sixth in the league in overall defensive field goal percentage (46.0%).  Missouri Western held Lincoln in the Quarterfinals to 3-of-16 three-point FG and the Blue Tigers were 0-of-9 after halftime.

TAKE-A-WAYS
The Griffons also lead the MIAA in turnovers forced (15.7), turnover margin (3.6) and steals per game (9.0).  MWSU has forced 13+ turnovers in 17 games this season and they've forced 18+ turnovers in 10 games.  Western also has 100 more steals than their opponents and they have 10+ steals in 12 games.

ON THE GLASS
Missouri Western is No. 1 in the MIAA in offensive rebounding at 10.4 per game.  The Griffons had 16 offensive rebounds against UNK on Saturday and 14 more against Lincoln in the Quarterfinals Wednesday.  MWSU also leads the MIAA in blocked shots per game (3.7) and getting a season high 9 against the Blue Tigers.

PLAYER NOTES
0 Reese Glover
- 14+ points in seven of last 10 games
- Has shot 42.9% (45-of-105) from beyond the three-point line in his last 11 games
- In the six games he's made 5+ threes over the last 11 games, he's shooting 52.3% (34-of-65)
- Moved into 4th on the all-time 3FGM list as he now has 151 career three-pointers made.
- Made 5+ 3FG in six of last nine games
- Made 3+ three-point field goals in 14 games
- Has made at least one 3PT FG in 21 of 22 games this season, 32 of his last 34 games, and 45 of 52 career games
- 1st in MIAA/1dy in NCAA in 3FG made/game (3.3)
- 1st in MIAA/1st in NCAA in total 3FG made (72)
- 1st in MIAA/1st in NCAA in 3FG attempted (184)

3 Tyrell Carroll
- Averaged 22.7 P, 5.6 A, 2.9 S and had a 2.9:1 assist:turnover ratio in his seven games before getting injured Wednesday
- Scored 20+ in five of his last eight
- Scored double figures in 28 of his last 30 games
- Scored in DF is 39 of his last 42 and 70 of his 82 career games played
- 5 or more assists in 12 of last 17 games
- Moved into 3rd on the all-time assists list and 7th all-time in scoring
- 2+ steals in 15 games and 5+ steals in four games
- 6th in the MIAA in Assists/game (4.4)
- 4th in the MIAA in Assist-Turnover Ratio (1.9)
- 1st in the MIAA in FT made (107)
- 1st in the MIAA in FT attempted (149)
- 7th in the MIAA in Points/game (17.8)
- 1st in the MIAA in Steals/game (2.5)

4 Alex John
- 4+ rebounds 7 of last 9 games, and 12 overall
- 2+ blocks in nine games
- Career-high 5 blocks vs. LU
- Career-high three steals vs. UNK
- Season-high 12 points vs. UNK
- 1st in the MIAA in total blocks (28)
- 1st in the MIAA in blocks/game (1.2)

5 Caleb Bennett
- Scored in double figures in 13 games
- Scored a career-high 28 points vs. UCO
- 8 steals vs. WU is tied for 2nd most in a game in MWSU history
- Career-high 9 rebounds at WU
- 4+ rebounds in eight games
- 2+ steals in nine games
- 9th in the MIAA in Steals/game (1.5)

10 Q Mays
- Scored a career-high 32 points vs. Lincoln
- The 32 pts are double his previous career-high (16)
- Scored in double figures in 16 games this season
- 4+ rebounds in 10 games
- Double-Double in the opener at Rogers State (13 points, 11 rebounds)

13 Tyree Martin
- 5+ rebounds in six games this season
- 3+ rebounds in 13 games
- 2+ blocks in five games

33 Will Eames
- Scored in double figures in 15 games
- Career-high 17 rebounds vs. PSU
- 11+ rebounds in seven games
- 9+ rebounds in 12 games
- 7 double-doubles
- 4th in MIAA/15th in NCAA in Double-Doubles (7)
- 4th in the MIAA in rebounds per game (8.9)