ST. JOSEPH, Mo. — For the ninth time in program history, Griffon Men's Basketball is 5-0 to begin the regular season and is set to open up MIAA play this week vs. Pittsburg State and Missouri Southern at the MWSU Fieldhouse.
 
TICKETS + WHERE TO WATCH/LISTEN
Griffon MBB (5-0) will hit the airwaves of KFEQ Radio, as fans can tune in with the "Voice of the Griffons" Tommy Rezac and MWSU Director of Athletic Communications Derek Zimmerman-Guyer on the call. The games will air on KFEQ - AM 680 and the KFEQ Live Stream. Athletic Director of External Relations Paul Smith will call Saturday's game. 
 
The games are also available to watch for a subscription fee on the MIAA Network. Both pregame shows start 30 minutes prior to tipoff. Game admission can be found in the "Tickets" tab.
 
NOTABLES

• The Griffons started MIAA play 2-0 last season.
• The team is receiving votes in the latest NABC Top-25 Poll.
• The Griffons are also ranked fifth in the D2CSC Men's Basketball Division II Media Poll.
• Shooting 72.4% from the field, junior forward Kiani Saxon has the second-best field goal percentage in the MIAA. Thames is ninth (61.3%).
• With 18.2 PPG, senior forward JaRon Thames is seventh in the MIAA. He has scored 15 or more points in each game.
• Junior guard Taye Fields' 10.4 rebounds per game rank second in the league. He leads the league with 52 rebounds and is one of two MIAA players to average a double-double. 
• Western is holding teams to just a 26.6% clip from 3-point range, the second lowest in the conference.
• Western won their last six out-of-conference matchups. 
• The last time MWSU started 6-0 was 2005. The last 7-0 start occurred in 1999.

11/30 - SCOUTING PITTSBURG STATE | 7:30 PM
The Griffons will host one of their first two home games this coming Thursday against the Pitt State Gorillas (2-2, 0-0 MIAA). The Gorillas are heading to St. Joseph fresh off an 85-72 loss to William Jewell and are playing in their first road game of the season.
 
Who to Watch
Freshman guard Jordan Frison has exploded onto the MIAA scene this season, sitting in eighth place with 18 points per game. Frison is also 11th with 6.5 rebounds per game and third with 4.5 assists per contest. Sophomore guard Max Alexander is 10th in the league with 17.3 PPG and leads the team in steals with eight.
 
Head Coach
Jeff Boschee is in his second season with the Gorillas. He is the 16th head coach in program history. Last season, Boschee led his team to an 8-20 record and is 10-22 as a Gorilla. In his 10-year career, he is 161-108, going 151-86 with Missouri Southern from 2014-22. He is 0-2 vs. MWSU and Head Coach Will Martin.
 
Record Rabbit Hole
The Griffons lead the Gorillas in the all-time series 45-39, dating back to 1976, giving Martin the advantage against his team's MIAA rival at 4-2. With Martin on the staff since 2018, the Griffons are 7-2 vs. the Gorillas. The Griffons play well when hosting in this rivalry, holding a 27-15 record when playing Pitt in St. Joseph. Pitt last won in this series 72-64 on Jan. 1, 2022, at the Looney Complex. 
 
Last Time We Met
Box Score
In these two teams' last outing, the Griffons ended on top swimmingly with a 69-45 win. At halftime, the Griffons had a 19-point lead thanks to big plays from then-sophomore Zion Swader and then-sophomore Julius Dixon.
 
12/2 - SCOUTING MISSOURI SOUTHERN | 3:30 PM
In the second of their two matchups, the Griffons will face another MIAA foe in the Missouri Southern Lions (2-4, 0-0 MIAA) on Saturday, Dec. 2. In the Lions' last game against the Rockhurst Hawks, Southern lost 75-57.
 
Who to Watch
Junior forward Darius Dawson leads the team with 11.5 PPG and shoots 56.3% from the field. He is also sixth in the MIAA with 7.5 RPG. Graduate student guard Cam Williams sits right behind Dawson in points with 10.3 PPG. Williams has also accounted for eight steals and four blocks this season.
 
Head Coach
Sam McMahon is in his second season with the Lions and has a 19-17 record overall in his short tenure. Last season, McMahon led the Lions to the MIAA Tournament Quarterfinals for the first time since the 2019-2020 season. He is 0-1 vs. MWSU and Martin.
 
Rivalry Record Rabbit Hole
Dating back to 1969, Southern is 56-48 vs. MWSU. Martin is 2-3 vs. MSSU. Since 1969, Missouri Western is 34-17 when MSSU comes to St. Joseph. 
 
Last Time We Met
Box Score
On Dec. 3, 2022, the Griffons were victorious over the Lions 79-65, taking home a win in Joplin, Missouri. In that game, the team never trailed the Lions at any point in the matchup. Dixon and Will Eames led the team with 14 points. Fields pulled down a then-career-high 17 rebounds, the fourth most in program history.
 
ON THIS DAY IN GRIFFON MBB HISTORY
Nov. 30 | Box Score
On this day back in 2019, the Griffons lost a heartbreaker against Western Colorado 86-82. In that game, Zach Anderson scored a career-high 10 points and had four blocked shots. Tyus Millhollin had a career-high night, scoring a game-high 31 points on 8-of-16 shooting from the field.
 
Dec. 2 | Box Score | Video Recap
Picking up their first MIAA win of the 2017-18 season, the Griffs downed Northeastern State 70-66 thanks to a big night by the bench. Lavon Hightower scored a game-high 18 points thanks to 2-of-3 shooting from deep. Wes Mitter contributed 17 points as the sixth man, splashing 4-of-5 triples.