By Tommy Rezac, 680 KFEQ and stjosephpost.com

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. - The Missouri Western men had to survive a late charge from Lincoln the last time the two teams met in Jefferson City on Dec. 9, and the Griffons escaped with a 78-76 win.

Missouri Western (9-11, 5-7 MIAA) was caught in another back-and-forth affair with the Blue Tigers, but used a 9-2 run late in the second half and made 10-of-13 free throws in the final 20 minutes to beat Lincoln, 65-58, Saturday at the MWSU Fieldhouse.

The win is Missouri Western's first in the 2022 calendar year and snapped a seven-game losing streak that dated back to Dec. 18.

"This team just continues and continues and continues to fight," head coach Will Martin said. "It may not look that pretty on the court, but when you look at it objectively and see what these guys are battling through, it's pretty impressive."

Western got off to a rocky start, trailing 13-4 with 13:44 left in the first half. Starter Caleb Bennett went to the bench in that time with three early fouls, including a technical.

The Griffons, despite shooting 9-for-29 in the first half, scored 19 points off of 15 Lincoln turnovers in the first half alone to tie the game at 27 at halftime.

The first 12 minutes of the second half was very back-and-forth, as the game featured eight ties and 15 lead changes in all. The Griffons reclaimed the lead at 49-46 with 7:05 to go, thanks to a three-pointer from freshman Zion Swader.

Missouri Western would not lose the lead after that.

"When you drop a few games, you start to feel like you're never going to win again," Martin said. "I'm proud of our guys for not giving into the narrative and giving into that mindset and having a victor's mentality instead of a victim's mentality."

The Griffons outrebounded the Blue Tigers 36-30, and turned 22 Lincoln turnovers into 19 points. Missouri Western also made 17-of-22 free throws to secure the win.

Will Eames had a game-high 18 points to go with five rebounds. JaRon Thames had 17 points and 10 rebounds for his first double-double this season. The 10 rebounds also tie a career-high for Thames.

In his first career start, Swader finished with nine points and two steals. Taye Fields had four points and seven rebounds. Q Mays came off the bench Saturday for nine points, two rebounds, an assist, a steal and a block.

"I love that our freshmen and young guys are stepping up," Martin said. "We need our upperclassmen to step up as well. I thought Will (Eames) did a really good job, I thought JaRon did a really good job. And I thought in the minutes he played, Q was really good as well."

The Griffon men now prepare to battle No. 5 Northwest Missouri State (19-2, 12-1 MIAA) in a rematch Saturday. Tip-off in that game is set for 7 p.m.