ST. JOSEPH, Mo. — After going 2-0 this past weekend at the Hillyard Tipoff Classic in the MWSU fieldhouse, Griffon Men's Basketball hits the road for the first time this coming Wednesday.
The team travels south to Kansas City, Missouri. on Nov. 15 to face the Rockhurst Hawks (1-1, 0-0 GLVC).
TICKETS + WHERE TO WATCH/LISTEN
Griffon Men's Basketball (2-0) will grace the airwaves of KFEQ Radio, as fans can tune in with the "Voice of the Griffons" Tommy Rezac and Director of Athletic Communications Derek Zimmerman-Guyer on the call. The game will air on KFEQ - AM 680 and the
KFEQ Live Stream.
The game is also available to watch on the GLVC Network. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m., with pregame starting at 6:30. Game admission can be found in the "Tickets" tab.
NATIONAL NOTES
With MWSU's 75-72 win over No. 21 Northern State, the Griffons received six votes in the latest
D2CSC Top-25 Poll and were tabbed ninth in the Central Region Poll.
| Central Region Ranking |
School |
Record |
Points |
Previous Ranking |
| 1 |
Central Oklahoma (4) |
4-0 |
40 |
3 |
| T2 |
Minnesota State |
2-0 |
30 |
5 |
| T2 |
Fort Hays State |
2-0 |
30 |
7 |
| 4 |
Emporia State |
3-1 |
24 |
4 |
| 5 |
Northwest Missouri |
1-1 |
21 |
1 |
| 6 |
MSU Moorhead |
2-0 |
20 |
T9 |
| 7 |
Minnesota Duluth |
1-1 |
15 |
2 |
| 8 |
Southwest Minnesota State |
2-0 |
12 |
NR |
| 9 |
Missouri Western |
2-0 |
10 |
NR |
| 10 |
Central Missouri |
2-0 |
7 |
NR |
THAMES THROWDOWN
Senior
JaRon Thames had himself a weekend at the Hillyard Classic, accumulating 36 points after scoring a team-high 18 points in back-to-back nights Thames found most of his work within the arc by going 15-of-25 in his shooting. Thames played big at the rim with five offensive rebounds and seven defensive rebounds.
NOTABLES
- Head Coach Will Martin got his seventh win over a ranked team against then-No. 21 Northern State on Saturday.
- Not only did senior Thames score 36 points, but he also had 14 rebounds on the weekend.
- With 18 points and 10 rebounds in Friday's 76-72 win over Augustana, Thames collected the fifth double-double of his career.
- The Griffon defense forced 18 turnovers over the weekend.
- Junior guard Taye Fields is now second in the MIAA with rebounds with 18 total.
11/15 - SCOUTING ROCKHURST | 7:00 PM
Starting out the season 1-1, the Hawks are coming off of an 81-64 win against Davenport on Nov. 11. Prior to that game, the Hawks lost to Purdue University Northwest 78-66. The game against the Griffons is set to tip off at 7 p.m. in the Mason-Halpin Fieldhouse.
Who to Watch
Thus far into the season, sophomore guard Miles White leads the team with 15.5 points per game and nine defensive rebounds. Sophomore forward Timaris Brown has also made a significant impact just two games into the regular season. Brown has 12 rebounds total, 13 points and two steals.
Head Coach
Drew Diener is entering his ninth season leading the Hawks and is the 13th head coach in Rockhurst history. In his time with the Hawks, Diener has a record of 110-114 and is 278-157 overall in his 15-year career. In the 2022-23 season, he led the Hawks to a 16-13 record and a trip to the GLVC Tournament.
Record Rabbit Hole
The Griffons have the upper hand in the all-time series dating back to 1970 with a winning record of 34-31. Since 2000, MWSU is 2-5 at Rockhurst.
Last Time Out
Box Score
The last time these two teams saw each other was on Nov. 22, 2022, inside the MWSU Fieldhouse. In that matchup, the Griffons won swimmingly with an 82-46 victory. Then-sophomore guard
Julius Dixon has 12 points with six rebounds and two steals. Sophomore guard
Zion Swader chipped in with 11 points, producing two rebounds and a steal.
ON THIS DAY IN GRIFFON MEN'S BASKETBALL HISTORY
Nov. 15 | Box Score | Video Recap
Throwing it back to 2013, the Griffons started the Hillyard Tipoff Classic with a thumping of William Jewell, beating the Cardinals 78-55 at the MWSU Fieldhouse. Western started the game on an 18-4 run to take a 42-19 halftime lead. The Griffs were led by Colbert Cortrez's game-high 22 points, hitting 8-of-22 threes as a team. Meanwhile, the MWSU defense extinguished Jewell's offense, holding the Cardinals to a 15.8% clip from downtown and an overall percentage of 33.3 from the field.
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