ST. JOSEPH, Mo. — Despite riding a four-game losing streak, Griffon Men's Basketball circles back looking for a season sweep in a matchup with Fort Hay State this Thursday at Gross Memorial Coliseum in Hays, Kansas.

Once MWSU is finished with the Tigers in Hays, they will travel to Nebraska to take on the Lopers of Nebraska-Kearney on Saturday. After this weekend, the Griffons will return home to 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 Gross Memorial Coliseum and the Health & Sports Center. 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.

FULL CIRCLE VS. FORT HAYS
Since Missouri Western (8-10, 4-8 MIAA) last saw and defeated Fort Hays on Jan. 10 in St. Joseph, the Griffons entered a season-high four-game losing streak, falling to Newman, No. 7/9 Central Oklahoma, Lincoln and Central Missouri. In their latest outing, the Griffs led the Mules by 14 points with under 11 minutes left to play, but UCM rattled off an 11-0 run to cut the deficit to 59-56. Following a timeout, UCM grabbed the lead and traded it traded back and forth with MWSU until a Trey Sides 3-pointer with 54 seconds to go put Central Missouri up for good at 73-72. The Griffons did find some bright glimpses of success within the game, as junior guard Reese Glover scored a season-high 19 points and made 5-of-10 shots from downtown. Junior guard/forward JaRon Thames collected his second-straight game in double-figures, scoring 18 while cleaning the glass for five boards and serving three assists.

Coming into this matchup, Head Coach Will Martin believes Fort Hays has one of the top defenses in the country, as the Tigers are only allowing 58.1 points per game, the lowest in the MIAA. On top of that, Hays is 9-2 at home and have only lost at Gross Memorial Coliseum by a combined seven points.

"Going to their house is a little different as well," Martin said. "The energy is different, and you have to come in 10-15 points better to walk away with a victory at Hays. We're not worried about streaks, positive or negative. We're focused one day at a time, one game at a time and one practice at a time. We remain optimistically but also pragmatically hopeful right now."

IGNITING THE FLAME THAT IS JARON THAMES
Since his return to the starting lineup on that Thursday in early January vs. Fort Hays, Thames is averaging 12.2 points per game and is shooting 41.2% (21-of-51) from the field. On top of Thames' steady presence within the perimeter, he is also peeling off 6.4 rebounds per game in that stretch. In just nearly two weeks, Thames has made his way to fourth on the team with 9.2 PPG and 4.0 RPG. 

3-POINT PLAYERS
One certainty that has been set in cement so far this season is the fact the Griffons can shoot from beyond the arc. Missouri Western has hit the third-most threes in the MIAA with 164 so far, and they are the second-best triple-shooting team in the conference, hitting 39% of their attempts. This 3-point reassurance is spearheaded by Glover, whose 3-point percentage of 43.8 ranks fourth in the MIAA. Missouri Western is riding a three-game streak with eight or more 3-pointers made, shooting a season-high 56.3% last time it played Fort Hays.

SCOUTING FORT HAYS STATE: JAN. 26 - 7:30 PM
Fort Hays (13-6, 8-5 MIAA) comes in with a fifth-place cushion in the MIAA but has not won back-to-back games since Dec. 31-Jan. 2. Since losing to MWSU, FHSU is 2-1, narrowly defeating Nebraska-Kearney, 57-55, losing to Washburn, 74-64, and eviscerating No. 24 Emporia State, 74-53. Thursday night's meeting with MWSU begins a two-game homestand, as No. 7/7 Northwest Missouri State heads to Hays on Saturday for a 4 p.m. showdown.

Head Coach
Twenty-two-year Head Coach Mark Johnson comes into St. Joseph with a 254-160 mark in the MIAA. He is the all-time winningest coach in FHSU history with a career record of 420-2010, and he has a 17-11 record vs. MWSU and 2-3 record vs. Martin.

Who to Watch
Not much has changed for Fort Hays' main playmakers since they last played MWSU, as sophomore guard Kaleb Hammeke is still the Tigers' main scoring source. He averages a team-high 15.9 PPG, good for eighth in the MIAA. He's also third in the league with 3.8 assists per game and has played the most minutes in all of the MIAA with 692 recorded so far. Fellow sophomore guard Elijah Nnanabu is near behind Hammeke, averaging 9.9 PPG.

Record Rabbit Hole
The Tigers hold the all-time series advantage, 36-19, and are 21-5 vs. MWSU when playing in Hays. The Griffons' win last time out stopped a two-game skid vs. the Tigers, and MWSU now has a chance to win back-to-back games vs. Fort Hays for the first time since winning three in a row from 2017-19. The series dates back to 1977 and continued to 1994 before picking back up in 2007. 

Last Time Out
Box Score | Video Recap
In what broke a three-game skid for MWSU, the Griffons recognized Will Eames for scoring 1,000 points and scored a win of their own over Fort Hays, 62-55, on Jan. 10 at the MWSU Fieldhouse. Missouri Western held FHSU to only 15 points at halftime and never let its lead dip to below six for the rest of the evening, In Thames' return to a starting role, he led MWSU with 15 points while grabbing 11 rebounds, notching the third double-double of his career and MWSU's fourth of the season. Sophomore guard Julius Dixon scored 13 points on 3-of-3 shooting from three, and Glover added 11 more points off the bench while tying the then all-time 3-point record with his 233rd-made three.

ON THIS DAY IN GRIFFON MEN'S BASKETBALL HISTORY: JAN. 26
Box Score | Video Recap
Also playing in hostile territory on this day in 2013, MWSU went down to the wire with Lincoln in Jefferson City, Missouri. After leading by nine early on in the first half, Lincoln came back to swap leads with MWSU for the rest of the evening. After giving up a 3-pointer to Cedric Ridle of LU, the Griffons forced a turnover to run one more play with 12 seconds left. Waiting until nearly the very last second, Dzenan Mrkaljevic's go-ahead bucket beat the buzzer with one second remaining. Ridle missed the last-second heave as time expired, and Mrkaljevic's team-high 17 points led MWSU to the 61-59 victory.

SCOUTING NEBRASKA-KEARNEY: JAN. 28 - 4 PM
Currently in 14th and last place in the MIAA, Nebraska-Kearney (3-15, 1-11 MIAA) is on a four-game losing streak. The Lopers begin their two-game homestand vs. MWSU after losing to Missouri Southern, Fort Hays, No. 24 Emporia State and Washburn. Kearney is only 3-6 at home and has only defeated one MIAA opponent at the Health & Sports Center, pushing past Pittsburg State, 63-61 on Jan. 5. The Lopers give up the second-most PPG in the MIAA at 74.2.

Head Coach
In his eighth season as head coach at UNK, Kevin Lofton is 105-113 overall and 68-86 in the MIAA. He is amidst his 28th overall season a part of the UNK coaching staff, first starting as a graduate assistant in 1995. In his time as the lone leader of the Lopers, he is 4-5 vs. MWSU and 2-2 against Martin.

Who to Watch
Graduate student forward Darrian Nebeker is dangerous when he's on, scoring a team-high 16.4 PPG that ranks him sixth in the MIAA. He stands alone on top of the conference with 4.8 APG, dishing an MIAA-high 86 assists this season while holding the best assist/turnover ratio at 2.3. He is joined by sharpshooting sophomore guard Sean Evans, who in 10th in the MIAA with 14.4 PPG. Evans is also a sniper from deep, toting the third-best 3-point field goal percentage at 45 right on the dot. 

Record Rabbit Hole
The Lopers lead the all-time series dating back to the 1976-77 season, 21-18. Since picking the rivalry back up in 2013 after a 24-year hiatus, MWSU is 8-5 vs. UNK and 4-2 when playing in Kearney. No team has won back-to-back games since MWSU won two in a row from 2019-20. 

Last Time Out
Box Score 
Then a true freshman on Feb. 25, 2022, Taye Fields went turbo against Nebraska-Kearney. The future Griffon leader scored a game and career-high 29 points while snagging 10 rebounds, leading MWSU to a 76-74 victory in Kearney at the Health & Sports Center. Eliminating a 40-39 halftime deficit, the Griffons closed out the regular season on a high note thanks to 11 points and seven rebounds from Will Eames, who snagged three steals to keep UNK at bay.

ON THIS DAY IN GRIFFON MEN'S BASKETBALL HISTORY: JAN 28
Box Score
Nearing the end of an eventual 17-11 season in 2006, MWSU walked into the Leggett & Platt Athletic Center in Joplin, Missouri, with a against Missouri Southern. After surviving a 7-2 Southern run to open the game, MWSU came screaming back to eventually take a 45-37 lead at the break. Thanks to a strong night from Demarius Bolds and his game-high 27 points, MWSU left Joplin with an 80-63 triumph.

NOTABLES 

• Sophomore guard Reed Kemp needs 10 points to achieve 100 for the season.
• With 11 more points, Glover will reach 900-career points. He also needs four more assists to reach 100, and he is two boards away from 150-career rebounds.
• Glover is tied for the 25th-highest 3-point percentage in Division II at 43.8.
• Sophomore guard Zion Swader needs 10 points to reach 200 for his career.
• Dixon has scored 10 or more points in 17 of 18 games this season.