ST. JOSEPH, Mo. — Griffon Men's Basketball's 2022-23 campaigned began in captivating fashion, as Missouri Western defeated Minnesota Crookston in overtime, 81-76, on Friday night inside the MWSU Fieldhouse.

With Missouri Western (1-0) playing in game two of the Hillyard Tip-Off Classic and following a slugfest between Northwest Missouri and Northern State, the Griffons followed suit in a strong way. Zion Swader led all scorers in the first half with 17 points thanks to a 5-of-5 start from 3-point range. The Griffons held an 11-point halftime lead 45-34, but Crookston (0-1) kept creeping around in the second half. 

Four double-figure performances for the Golden Eagles kept them alive, highlighted by a 21-point night by Blaize Sagna. A 15-point lead for the Griffons disappeared after 9-0 Crookston run in the final three minutes. With MWSU up, 70-67, Sagna sunk a 3-pointer with four seconds left to eventually send the game to overtime.

The Griffons immediately took the life back away Crookston, cruising on their own 9-0 run to begin OT. Julius Dixon capped a 17-point night off with the go-ahead bucket 21 seconds into overtime thanks to an assist from Taye Fields, giving the Griffons their final lead of the night.

NOTABLES

• Swader scored a career-high 22 points, leading all scorers for day one of the classic while coming off the bench.
• Dixon scored 17 points and pulled in nine rebounds in his Griffon debut.
• Will Eames had a game-high 11 rebounds.
• MWSU shot 13-of-22 (46.2%) from 3-point range.
• The Griffons outscored Crookston in points off turnovers, 22-7.

UP NEXT
Missouri Western takes on Northern State (0-1) on Saturday at 6 p.m. in game four of the Hillyard Tip-Off Classic inside the MWSU Fieldhouse. The Wolves lost to No. 1 Northwest (3-0), 81-76, on to begin the tournament on Friday. Northern State received 53 top-25 votes in the last NABC Coaches Poll.