ST. JOSEPH, Mo. — A tightly-contested beginning to game four of the Hillyard Tip-Off Classic unraveled in favor of Northern State late, as Griffon Men's Basketball fell, 68-57, on Saturday night inside the MWSU Fieldhouse.

Missouri Western spent 28:15 trailing Northern State, committing 17 turnovers overall and playing catch up for the entire second half. Sophomore guard Taye Fields led the Griffons with a first-half high 12 points and kept MWSU (1-1) within striking distance at the half, 28-27. However, with Northern State (1-1) already up by 10 with under five minutes to play, Wolves guard Sam Masten hit back-to-back 3-pointers to plunge MWSU into a 16-point deficit -- its largest of the night. He finished with a game-high 24 points while shooting 9-of-13 from the field.

NOTABLES

• Fields finished with 19 points and a game-high eight rebounds.
• Three other Griffons finished with double-digits scored: Will Eames (13); Julius Dixon (11); and Zion Swader (10).
• This is Swader and Dixon's second-straight game scoring 10 points or more.
• The Griffons shot 7-of-23 after shooting 12-for-26 on Friday.

UP NEXT
Missouri Western heads to the South for its first road test of the season this Thursday against Oklahoma Baptist (092) in Shawnee, Oklahoma, at the Noble Complex. The Bison lost to No. 21 Minnesota State-Moorhead, 76-67, and Wayne State, 68-58, this weekend at the GAC/NSIC Conference Challenge in Wayne, Nebraska. Tip-off  vs. Baptist is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.