ST. JOSEPH, Mo. — Hot off the heels of a ranked win before the holidays, Griffon Men's Basketball is back this Wednesday with a home matchup vs. Friends University of the NAIA at the MWSU Fieldhouse.
This is the Griffons' (6-3, 3-1 MIAA) last non-conference game of the season and first contest since resting for a full week after their 68-64 win over No. 22 Emporia State on Monday, Dec. 19. Wednesday's tipoff kicks off a stretch of three-straight home games for the Griffons. Missouri Western's next game is against Rogers State (7-4, 3-2 MIAA) on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. back inside the Looney Complex. With this slight break in conference play, Missouri Western is currently third in the MIAA.
KEEPING UP WITH THE GRIFFONS
KFEQ Radio will broadcast the game live on the 680 AM and 95.3 FM, with the "Voice of the Griffons" Tommy Rezac on the call. Fans that want to watch the games can purchase a subscription to the MIAA network, where the games will be broadcast live. Admission can be purchased by clicking on the "Tickets" tab above. Catch exclusive interviews with Head Coach
Will Martin during the pregame show.
ANOTHER BRICK IN THE WALL
In his three seasons as head coach for MWSU, Martin's teams are 6-4 vs. ranked opponents. Before that, MWSU had six wins over ranked teams spanning from 2010-19. As of right now, the Griffons have three opponents who are currently ranked on the NABC Coaches and D2SIDA polls left on their schedule: No. 6/4 Northwest Missouri State (two games); No. 9/11 Central Oklahoma (two games); and No. 20 Emporia State (one game). The Hornets moved up two spots after falling to MWSU, while the Griffons did not garner any votes.
RUNNING DOWN A RECORD
Reese Glover continues to shoot lights out from downtown, tallying a 42.9 percentage from 3-point range, which is fourth in the MIAA. Against Emporia, Glover passed Heath Dudley (217) for the second-most threes in Griffon Men's Basketball history, making 4-of-8 to give him 219 in his career. He trails just Cole Clearman's mark of 233, which was set during 2017-18 campaign.
SCOUTING FRIENDS: DEC. 28 - 7:30 PM
For Friends (3-11, 2-6 KCAC), Wednesday night's game counts only as an exhibition and will not affect the Falcons' record. They have won two out of their last four after starting the season 1-10.
Head Coach
Austin McBeth is in his first season with Friends. McBeth arrives at Friends following a highly-successful stint as the head assistant coach at NCAA DII Truman State University of the GLVC. Serving as the recruiting coordinator for Truman State, McBeth was at the heart of a team that won the GLVC regular-season championship and earned a No. 1 seed in the NCAA DII National Tournament.
Who to Watch
Ian Konek leads the Falcons with 16.6 points per game and is third on the squad from 3-point range at 38.9%. He is joined by Tim Barbieri and his 11.1 PPG, as well as Markell Hood's 10.7 PPG and Al Emerllahu's 10.4 PPG. Barbieri leads the Falcons with 8.7 rebounds per game, while Konek has taken away a team-high 14 steals.
Record Rabbit Hole
This is the first-ever official game vs. Friends that will count towards MWSU's record. The previous two meetings these last two seasons were exhibitions for both programs, with the Griffons winning both times.
Last Time Out
Missouri Western defeated Friends in a 78-50 final nearly a year ago on Dec. 29, 2021, in St. Joseph at the MWSU Fieldhouse. Konek was the only Falcon to score more than 10 points, reaching 17 off the bench.
JaRon Thames scored a team and game-high 17 points, while
Reed Kemp chipped in 12. No stats from this game in particular count towards any official record books.
NOTABLES
- Julius Dixon has scored 10 or more points in eight of nine games this season. He leads MWSU with 12 PPG.
- Glover recently scored his 800th point as a Griffon against Emporia.
- Will Eames is 12 points away from scoring 1,100 in his career. He passed Damon Bailey, Jr. (2001-03; 1,086 points) for 13th all-time at Emporia and needs 19 to tie Larry Ingram (1982-84; 1,107 points) for 12th in Griffon history. Eames scored a season-high 19 points vs. Rockhurst on Nov. 22. He also surpassed 700 career rebounds vs. ESU.
- The Griffons have won their last two games at home and are winners of five out of their last six contests.
NABC Coaches Poll - Dec. 25, 2022
D2SIDA Men's Basketball National Media Poll Week 6 – Dec, 2022
