ST. JOSEPH, Mo. — After a 1-1 home split at the Hillyard Tip-Off Classic, Griffon Men's Basketball (1-1) tests itself on the road in a non-conference clash with Oklahoma Baptist (0-2) in Shawnee, Oklahoma at the Noble Complex.
HOW TO KEEP UP WITH THE GRIFFONS
Griffon fans wishing to watch or listen to the game can tune in with "The Voice of the Griffons" Tommy Rezac on the MIAA Network and KFEQ Radio.
EAMES EARNS 1,000
Last Saturday night in the Griffons' loss to Northern State, junior
Will Eames became the 16th Griffon in men's basketball history to notch over 1,000 points, sitting idle with 1,003 after his 13-point performance against the Wolves. Northern State made Eames earn points 1,000 and 1,001 at the free-throw line, sinking them both at the 6:25 mark of the second half.
SWAY WITH SWADER
Zion Swader lit up opposing defenses this past weekend, sinking 6-of-8 from beyond the arc to currently lead the MIAA with a sizzling 75% mark from downtown. Swader scored a career-high 22 points in MWSU's 81-76 overtime win over Minnesota Crookston last Friday at the MWSU Fieldhouse, where he made 5-of-5 from deep. He slashed up 12 more points vs. Northern State, and leads the team with 16 points per game.
SCOUTING OKLAHOMA BAPTIST
Heading into Thursday night, MWSU is 1-0 vs. the Bison all-time after winning last season in St. Joseph, 74-71, breaking OBU's 4-0 start to 2021. The Bison were receiving top-25 votes in the NABC Coaches Poll and were ranked No. 17 in the D2SIDA Meda Poll at the time.
Coached by fifth-year man Jason Eaker, the Bison stumbled early with an 0-2 start, which is just their second time starting 0-2 under Eaker. With a career record of 74-38, Eaker is moving OBU in the right direction, reeling off four-straight winning seasons and two trips to the NCAA Tournament after the program suffered three consecutive losing years prior to his arrival.
Bison players to watch include Paul King, who is leading the team and is third in the GAC with 22.5 PPG. King can also hurt teams from deep, shooting 46.7% from 3-point range — the third-best mark in the GAC. D.J. Freeman makes it look easy finding the boards, averaging the fourth most in the conference with 8.5 RPG.
The Bison currently sit 11th out of 12 teams in the GAC just two games into the season.
NOTABLES
- Will Martin is one win away from career win No. 30.
- A 2-1 start would mark MWSU's first winning record since starting last season 9-8 thanks to a six-game winning streak.
- Eames needs one more steal for the 100th of his career.
- Reese Glover is three made 3-pointers away from 200. He is third all-time with 197.
