ST. JOSEPH, Mo. — An 82-46 triumph over Rockhurst marked Griffon Men's Basketball's largest win under Head Coach
Will Martin, as Missouri Western evened its record up on Tuesday evening at the MWSU Fieldhouse.
The Hawks (2-3) led for all of 58 seconds thanks to a 3-pointer by Jihad Thornton in the opening moments of the game. Missouri Western (2-2) promptly responded with peak performances by Matt Nunez and
Will Eames. Nunez scored on a second-chance putback, jumped on a Rockhurst turnover and slung a soon-to-be assist to Eames for a three that gave the Griffons a lead they never looked back on.
This 36-point win is the largest margin of victory for MWSU with Martin at the helm since Feb. 12, 2022, in a 75-53 Griffon win at Pittsburg State. After leading at halftime, 45-29, Missouri Western held the Hawks to only 17 second-half points. Meanwhile,
Reed Kemp scored a career-high 17 points, playing nearly 17 minutes off the bench.
The combined efforts of Matt Nunez and
J.C. Anthony kept GLVC standout Rich Byhre in check with just 11 points and six rebounds — the first time Bhyre has been held without a double-double this season. He was the only Hawk to score in double-digits. He only scored five second-half points.
NOTABLES
- Will Eames scored a game-high and season-high 19 points, pulling in another game-high of eight rebounds.
- Every single Griffon who played recorded a positive showing in the plus/minus category.
- Julius Dixon and Zion Swader scored 12 and 11 points, respectively, giving them both double-figures in three-out-of-four games this season.
- MWSU slowed Rockhurst down all night, outscoring the Hawks in fast-break points, 10-0.
- The Griffons shot a season-best 53.8% from the field on Tuesday, making 28-of-52 shots, tying a season-high for field goals made.
UP NEXT
Missouri Western enjoys its Thanksgiving break until Saturday when the Griffons lock up with NAIA school Avila (1-7, 0-3 KCAC) at 3:30 p.m. back inside the Looney Complex. The Eagles are reeling off a six-game losing streak after starting the season 1-0, most recently losing to Bethel on Tuesday in Kansas City, Missouri, 62-58.
