ST. JOSEPH, Mo.
— The battle of Highway 71 is back, as Griffon Men's Basketball gears up for its biggest game yet: a meeting with No 5/6 Northwest Missouri this Saturday at 1:30 p.m. in Maryville, Missouri.
KEEPING UP WITH THE GRIFFONS
KFEQ Radio will broadcast Saturday's game live on 680 AM and 95.3 FM with the "Voice of the Griffons" Tommy Rezac on the call at Bearcat Arena. 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 starting at 1 p.m.
SETTING THE STAGE
After celebrating the holidays with a blowout win over Friends, the Griffons (7-5, 3-3 MIAA) are coming off two near-comeback losses vs. Rogers State and Northeastern State. Missouri Western eliminated deficits of 11 (RSU) and 24 points (NSU) but came short at the buzzer each game. With his Griffons down, 62-61, vs. Rogers State, sophomore guard
Julius Dixon had a look from deep but fell just shy of the win.
Monday's wild finish vs. the RiverHawks went white-hot once Dixon found redemption by banking home a game-tying three with three seconds to play. However, an MWS foul immediately sent NSU to the free-throw line, where the RiverHawks were able to sink both and walk away victorious. This current two-game skid is only the second of its kind for MWSU this season.
JULIUS' SPECIAL JUICE
Dixon is near unstoppable in his first year with the Griffons, averaging a team-high 12.8 points per game, which is 22nd in the MIAA. The sophomore Griff has not scored shy of 10 points since Dec. 17 at Washburn, scoring 12 points or more in five-straight games and 11 out of 12 contests so far. Dixon caused backcourt disaster for NSU on Monday, snagging a season-high three steals. Dixon is also finding his power in the paint, slamming home two dunks on breakaways in his last two games.
READY TO REWRITE THE RECORD BOOKS
The dawn of MWSU's new 3-point king is on the horizon, with junior guard
Reese Glover needing just four threes to break Cole Clearman's all-time program record of 233. For context, Glover is averaging 2.9 made threes per game this season, and he has hit at least three shots from beyond the arc in his last four games, shooting 46.9% (15-of-32) in that span. He is third in the MIAA with a percentage of 43.8.
Racing towards the Record
Clearman set the new record of 218 at the time on Feb. 7, 2018, at Washburn with his first three of the game. It took Clearman 105 games to break Heath Dudley's old 3-point record of 217, while Glover is gearing up to play career game No. 84. To break it down even further, Glover has attempted 573 threes in his career, while it took the current 3-point king 595 attempts to etch his name into the record books.
SCOUTING NORTHWEST MISSOURI: JAN. 7 - 3:30 PM
Coming in ranked No. 5 in the NABC Coaches Poll and No. 4 in the D2SIDA Poll, Northwest Missouri State (13-1, 7-1 MIAA) comes in winners of three in a row and prepares to cap its four-game homestand. The Bearcats beat down NAIA program Clarke on Dec. 28, 93-57, before tearing through Northeastern on New Year's Eve, 79-58, and defeating Rogers this past Monday, 87-65. Northwest averages the third-most PPG in the MIAA at 79.8 while giving up the third least with a sturdy mark of 60.4.
Head Coach
Amidst his 13th season with Northwest, Ben McCollum is 347-84 overall and 207-60 in the MIAA. He is a five-time NABC DII National Coach of the Year, which is the most in DII history. Not including the 2020 shutdown, his Bearcats have won the national championship for the last three seasons.
Who to Watch
Northwest is led in scoring by senior guard Diego Bernard, who is averaging a team-high 15.8 points per game, putting him seventh in the MIAA. Freshman guard Bennett Stirtz is right behind his senior teammate with 13.9 PPG (15th) while being the Bearcats' leader from 3-point range at 50% (20-of-40). Bernard has scored 10 points or more in his last seven games, and his freshman counterpart has done so in four consecutive games. Junior forwards Luke Waters and Wes Dreamer round out Northwest's top scorers with slashes of 11.9 and 11 PPG, respectively.
Record Rabbit Hole
Before the turn of the century, Missouri Western led the all-time series, 27-17. However, Northwest is 44-10 since 2000, taking a 61-37 advantage. The Bearcats are winners of 21 in a row in this matchup, with MWSU last winning, 71-58, on Jan. 12, 2013 in St. Joseph. Martin is 0-4 vs. Northwest. Meanwhile, the Griffs are seeking their first win in Maryville since a 66-63 triumph on Jan. 7, 2009. The Griffons are 2-21 in Maryville since 2000.
Last Time Out
Missouri Western went toe-to-toe with a No. 4-ranked Northwest back on Feb. 5, 2022, at the MWSU Fieldhouse. The Griffons trailed at the half, 35-32, but a dominant second half by the Bearcats helped them pull away for the 84-61 victory.
JaRon Thames of MWSU led all scorers with a career-high 27 points, but no other Griffon starter scored more than four. The Griffs were without Glover for this game, but
Taye Fields picked up valuable minutes off the bench with 11 points and a 7-of-7 showing at the free-throw line.
NOTABLES
- Sophomore guard Reed Kemp needs just seven points to reach 100 for his career.
- Glover is one field goal attempt away from his 700th. He is also nine assists away from his 100th.
- Junior forward/guard Will Eames made the 400th field goal of his career vs. Northeastern last Monday.
- Eames (1,125 points) also needs 14 points to pass Lamont Turner (2000-02; 1,138 points) for 10th all-time in program history.
- Sophomore guard Zion Swader needs four points to reach 100 for this season.
- Thames is four made free throws away from the 100th of his career.
ON THIS DAY IN GRIFFON MEN'S BASKETBALL HISTORY: JAN. 7
Coincidentally, the last time MWSU won in Maryville was on this day in 2009 in 66-63 fashion. The Griffons took an indefinite lead just three minutes and 55 seconds into the game, but Northwest wouldn't quite go away and trailed the MWSU, 33-32, at halftime. Dominique Thuston kept the Griffons ahead with a game-high 19 points, making three free throws in the final minute to keep NWMSU at arm's length, resulting in a missed Bearcat three at the buzzer to seal MWSU's win and break a then five-game losing streak against the team up north.
