Story by TOMMY REZAC

St. Joseph Post

EDMOND, OK  - The Missouri Western men's basketball team did something Tuesday that no other team had done all season. 

The Griffons handed #13 Central Oklahoma it's first home loss of the season in a 71-68 upset.

MWSU (10-12, 6-8 MIAA) got off to a slow start, falling behind 21-7 less than seven minutes into the game before rattling off a 12-2 run to get back in it and eventually lead 36-35 at the break.

The Griffons then started the second half on an 11-2 run and led 56-46 with 10:05 to go.

The Bronchos (19-4, 14-3 MIAA) punched back, going on a 12-1 run to lead it themselves, 58-57, with 5:26 remaining.

However, back-to-back layups by JaRon Thames and Will Eames put the Griffons back in front, 61-58, with 4:18 to go. Missouri Western never lost the lead again.

"Where we're sitting in the league standings right now isn't what we expected," Missouri Western head coach Will Martin said, as his team sits ninth in the 14-team MIAA. "We're not satisfied with it, but these kids show up every single day looking to solve problems. And looking to become more connected and put us in position to play our best basketball in March, which are our only two goals."

Leading 67-66 with a minute to go, a dunk by Taye Fields and then a layup by Thames after an offensive charge call on UCO put the Griffons up 71-66 with 40 seconds left.

Missouri Western then missed the front end of two one-and-one opportunities inside the final 30 seconds, and the Bronchos got the ball back, down three, with 16 seconds to go.

Isaiah Wade tried a three at the top of the key with about five seconds left. That missed, was rebounded by UCO's Carson Calavan, who had a tough, long look at a tying three at the buzzer from the left wing, but that shot was an air ball. The Griffons pulled off a thrilling upset.

"Any win is a big win," Missouri Western's Will Martin said after getting his fifth win over a ranked team in his second year as head coach. "I'm just glad our guys had the fortitude. We didn't play perfect, but we trusted the scout, we trusted the offense, we got the ball moving to multiple sides.

"And you know what? When you do things the right way, sometimes the basketball gods reward you."

The win is Missouri Western's first road victory since Dec. 9, 2021 and their third win over a ranked opponent this season. Q Mays led the way with 22 points - his sixth time scoring 20 or more this season. Fields, in his second career start, finished with a career-high 20 points to go with a game-high 11 rebounds. Will Eames had 11 points for the Griffons as well.

"We just stayed composed as a team," Mays said. "Stay connected whether we were up or down. We just stuck to our game plan. That worked for us today."

UCO made five threes in the first half, but went 0-for-7 from deep in the second. The Bronchos made 23-of-26 free throws, including all 17 attempts in the second half to stay in the game, but they only shot 8-of-22 from the field over the final 20 minutes.

Missouri Western also outscored UCO in the paint 42-26.

Again, any upset is thrilling and this was a much needed, feel good moment for a Griffon team that's battled adversity and needed a feel good moment.

An 11-day COVID break in January. An 8-4 start followed by a seven-game losing skid. Injuries. Six, single-digit losses - two of those in overtime. Players having to miss time for personal reasons. Yeah, this team has been through a lot and the record isn't where they want it to be.

In that sense, this upset feels somewhat bittersweet. But, with still eight games left in the regular season, the Griffons see this as an opportunity. An opportunity to kickstart a late run and save their best for last.

"I think it could be very big," Fields said. "I think we needed this to rattle the next eight off, so this is just the start of something."

The Griffon men and women are both in action Thursday at Missouri Southern in Joplin. The women tip off at 5:30 and the men at 7:30. Both games can be heard on KFEQ Radio (680, 95.3) or watched live on The MIAA Network.