ST. JOSEPH, Mo. — Despite losing two in a row last week, Griffon Men's Basketball has a chance to shoot above .500 again with MIAA matchups vs. Lincoln and Central Missouri this Thursday and Friday at the MWSU Fieldhouse.

KEEPING UP WITH THE GRIFFONS
KFEQ Radio will broadcast both games live on 680 AM and 95.3 FM with the "Voice of the Griffons" Tommy Rezac and Paul Smith on the call inside the Looney Complex. 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. 

HOME SWEET HOME
The Griffons (8-8, 4-6 MIAA) gathered some momentum last Tuesday on Jan. 10 when they defeated a solid Fort Hays State squad at the Fieldhouse. However, a Matt Nunez-less team fell to Newman last Thursday, 71-55, in Wichita, Kansas. With Nunez back on Saturday vs. No. 7/9 Central Oklahoma, MWSU fared much better but lost in 65-54 fashion in Edmond, Oklahoma, pushing its road record to 3-5. However, the Griffons are much healthier when playing in St. Joseph, holding a 5-3 record at home. Since the 2019-20 season, the Griffons are 29-15 inside Looney. 

LIL JOHN BRINGS THE JUICE
Longtime Griffon guard John Anderson Jr. had himself a highlight of a day vs. UCO, putting up a career-high 13 points while making a career-best 3-of-4 shots from 3-point range. Anderson Jr. went 4-of-6 from the field overall, 2-of-2 from the free-throw line while recording another career-high of two steals. The fifth-year junior's first three of the day gave MWSU a seven-point lead early on, which was its largest of the game, and his final knockdown from downtown tied the game at 39-39 with 9:17 left to play. 

RECOGNIZING REESE
Just one week after recognizing junior forward Will Eames for joining the 1,000-points club, MWSU Athletics has the privilege of once again honoring another Griffon milestone. Junior guard Reese Glover will be honored for breaking the program's all-time 3-point record this Thursday right before tipoff vs. Lincoln. He hit 3-pointer No. 234 with 14:25 left to go in the first half vs. the Blue Tigers to pass Cole Clearman and now sits at 237 after sinking 2-of-5 from deep against UCO. This year, Glover is third in the MIAA when hitting shots from deep at 43.3%.

SCOUTING LINCOLN: JAN. 19 - 7:30 PM
Sitting in sixth place, Lincoln (10-4, 6-4 MIAA) enters MWSU's schedule riding its second three-game winning streak of the season. The Blue Tigers won all three games by single-digits, defeating Washburn on Jan. 7, 72-67, Rogers State on Jan. 12, 76-74, and Northeastern State on Jan. 14, 76-68, as the latter two games were both in Jefferson City. When Lincoln is away from Jason Gym and playing in hostile environments, it is 2-2, losing to No. 7 UCO on Dec. 3 and Fort Hays on Jan. 2.

Head Coach
Second-year leader Jimmy Drew is making strides in Jefferson City, as his team is turning things around after a 4-23 effort in 2021-22. He is 14-27 overall and 9-23 inside the MIAA. Drew is 0-2 vs. Martin and MWSU, losing both matchups last season by a combined nine points. His team is averaging the most rebounds per game in the MIAA with a slash of 41.2

Who to Watch
Senior guard Artese Stapleton is one of three Blue Tigers averaging above 10 points per game, as he is second in the MIAA at 18.6. In his 13 games played, the staple of Lincoln's offense has scored no less than 11 points, putting up back-to-back 19-point games vs. Rogers State and Northeastern State, shooting 47.6% in that span. Senior forward Kevin Kone is the only MIAA player averaging a double-double, putting up 13.3 PPG (16th MIAA) and the most rebounds per game with a mark of 12.2. He has eight double-doubles so far this season, but he has only pulled down 12 boards in his last two outings.

Record Rabbit Hole
Missouri Western leads Lincoln in the all-time series, 38-13, dating all the way back to 1989. The Griffons have walked away with wins in the last three meetings, their best stretch vs. the Blue Tigers since a five-game winning streak from 2013-15. The Griffons are 5-4 when facing teams .500 or better this season. The last time these two teams faced off while both were at .500 or better was on March 3, 2021, when MWSU defeated Lincoln, 84-76, in St. Joe.

Last Time Out
Box Score | Video Recap
Martin and company's last lap vs. Lincoln was on Jan. 29, 2022, when the Griffons won at home, 65-58. Eames and JaRon Thames hit the Blue Tigers with a one-two combo, going off for 18 and 17 points, receptively. Lincoln's top scorer was Josh Wallace, who chipped in 14 off the bench. Thames also notched the second double-double of his career with 10 rebounds. The Blue Tigers nearly came back and made it a 60-56 ball game with 78 seconds left to play, but a Zion Swader bucket plus a foul clinched Lincoln's fate. 

ON THIS DAY IN GRIFFON MEN'S BASKETBALL HISTORY: JAN 19
Box Score
On this day in 2005, 9-6 MWSU battled a tough, 13-2 Pittsburg State team, taking the Gorillas the distance for a 98-88 triumph in Pittsburg, Kansas, at John Lance Arena. Demarius Bolds led all scorers with 33 points,  a threshold no Griffon has surpassed since. Four more Griffs chipped in double-figures nights, with Jason Warren scoring 18, Langston Grady with 15, Vernon Buckle with 11 and Justin Collins rounding it out with 10.

SCOUTING CENTRAL MISSOURI: JAN. 21 - 3:30 PM
Central Missouri (8-9, 4-7 MIAA) comes to town with a 10th-place seat in the conference, winning one of its last four games. The Mules snapped a three-game skid by defeating Rogers State in overtime, 78-77, last Saturday in Warrensburg, Missouri. Before UCM steps foot in St. Joe, it will play No. 4/4 Northwest Missouri State on Thursday in Maryville, Missouri. The Mules are 1-3 on the road this season, only defeating Pitt State, 64-62, on Dec. 17 in Pittsburg.

Head Coach
Doug Karleskint is in his ninth season leading UCM. He boasts a 221-145 career record, 132-111 record with UCM and is 79-93 in the MIAA. He is 12-5 vs. MWSU, 2-2 against Martin and 4-4 at the MWSU Fieldhouse, losing his last three games in St. Joe. His Mules have the best turnover margin in the MIAA at 5.2.

Who to Watch
Redshirt sophomore Mikel Henderson is one of UCM's main offensive weapons, putting up a team-high 12.6 PPG, which is 22nd in the MIAA. Redshirt senior forward Gavin Pinkley is right around the MIAA-scoring corner at 23rd with 12.4 PPG. Pinkley is also a threat from 3-point range, where he holds the MIAA's fourth-best line at 43%. They combined for 14 points last time out vs. Rogers State, but redshirt junior guard Trey Sides picked up the slack with a career-high 20 points. Kobe Campbell, who is third on the team with 9.8 PPG, scored 14 against the Hillcats.

Record Rabbit Hole
Central Missouri leads the all-time series dating back to 1986, 43-32, but the Mules are 14-24 inside the Looney Complex. The series has alternated winners in the last four matchups, as neither team has won back-to-back showdowns since the Griffons won three straight from 2019-20. 

Last Time Out
Box Score
Central Missouri came away victorious, 83-46, on Jan. 26, 2022, in Warrensburg. 

ON THIS DAY IN GRIFFON MEN'S BASKETBALL HISTORY: JAN 21
Box Score | Video Recap
Back in 2017, the 6-12 Griffons faced a challenging, 12-5 Nebraska-Kearney team that fell apart after leading by seven just six minutes into the game. Down by three at 30-27, Missouri Western ended the first half on a 10-0 run, eventually starting the second half with five unanswered points to take a commanding lead all the way to the buzzer. Seth Bonifas slashed UNK for a career-high 18 points while TJ Evans matched a game-high 21 points, pickpocketing five steals in the process.

NOTABLES

• With 18 points vs. UCO, sophomore guard Julius Dixon has surpassed 200 for his Griffon career (211).
• Sophomore guard Reed Kemp is 14 points away from reaching 100 this season.
• With four so far this year, Anderson Jr. has set a new career-high for threes made in a season. 
• Glover is seven assists away from 100 for his career. 
• Sophomore guard Zion Swader is 19 points away from reaching 200 career points.
• Thames needs five points to get him to career-point No. 700.