ST. JOSEPH, Mo. — Shutting No. 21 Northern State down from beyond the arc in a 0-for-26 shooting performance, Griffon Men's Basketball picked up a 75-72 win against the Wolves on Saturday at the MWSU Fieldhouse.
The Griffons (2-0) had three players score in double figures, led by JaRon Thames'18 points. Julius Dixon tacked on 15 points, and Josh Book helped out with 12 points and six rebounds off the bench. Josh Dilling led NSU (0-2) with a game-high 28 points.
After jumping out to a 26-22 advantage, Missouri Western State went on a 6-0 run with 4:37 left in the first half to increase its lead to 32-22. The Griffons then lost some of that lead but still entered halftime with a 35-28 advantage. Missouri Western got a great contribution from its bench in the period, as non-starters accounted for 15 of its 35 total points.
Missouri Western kept its lead intact before going on a 7-0 run, finished off by Dixon's jumper, to grow the lead to 42-30 with 17:03 to go in the contest. The Wolves narrowed the margin somewhat before the game was over, but the Griffons still held on for the 75-72 win after Dilling's last-second three missed the marl. Missouri Western took care of business in the paint, recording 22 of its 40 points in the lane.
Led by Taye Fields' three offensive rebounds, Missouri Western did a great job crashing the offensive glass, pulling down 11 boards that resulted in 10 second-chance points.
The Griffons limited Jacksen Moni to 0-of-7 shooting from downtown in the game. The Wolves did not have much luck cleaning up their misses on the offensive glass either, as they finished with eight offensive rebounds and managed eight second-chance points while Missouri Western cleared 30 defensive rebounds.
GAME NOTES
- Missouri Western never trailed on the way to a 75-72 victory.
- Western had a 41-35 edge on the boards in the win.
- This is MWSU's seventh win over a ranked team under Head Coach Will Martin.
- The Griffons are 2-0 for the first time since 2020.
- Missouri Western got a game-high 10 rebounds from Taye Fields.
UP NEXT
The Griffons hit the road this week to take on Rockhurst (1-1) on Wednesday at 7 p.m. in Kansas City, Missouri, at the Mason-Haplin Field House. Hailing from the GLVC, the Hawks recently defeated Davenport 81-64 this past Saturday in KCMO.
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