ST. JOSEPH, Mo. — Looking to bounce back from losing their unblemished start, Griffon Men's Basketball returns home to play against the Emporia State Hornets and the Washburn Ichabods this weekend at Civic Arena.
 
TICKETS + WHERE TO WATCH/LISTEN
Griffon MBB (7-2, 2-2 MIAA) 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. 
 
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

• With MWSU's winter commencement taking place at the Looney Complex this Saturday, the Griffs return to Civic for the first time since 2021.
• Under Head Coach Will Martin, MWSU is 1-1 at Civic.
• Last Thursday at Nebraska Kearney, two Griffons scored career-highs. Junior guard Julius Dixon went off for 28 points, and junior guard Zion Swader dropped 27.
• The Griffs are in sixth place in the MIAA. Emporia is in first, and Washburn is seventh.
• Western has the fourth-best scoring offense in the MIAA and is fifth in scoring average per game with 76.1.
• The Griffons have dropped out of the NABC Top-25 Poll after previously being ranked No. 22
• Emporia is No. 15 in the NABC Top-25 Poll and No. 19 in the D2CSC Top-25 Poll.
• Western's 3-point defense is holding teams to 29.8%, good for second in the MIAA.
• The Griffons are the second-best rebounding team in the conference, pulling down 37 rebounds per game. They are third with 27 defensive RPG.
• With 32 blocked shots, MWSU is fourth in the MIAA.
• Senior forward JaRon Thames sits in third place in the MIAA in field goals made with 57. 
• Junior forward Kiani Saxon is fourth in the MIAA in blocks with 13.
• Senior guard Reese Glover is nine points away from hitting 1,000 in his career.
• Junior guard Taye Fields is sixth in the MIAA with 34 assists and 3.8 assists per game.
• With Western's next win, it will be the 50th triumph of Martin's head-coaching career.

12/14 - SCOUTING NO. 15/19 EMPORIA STATE  | 7:30 PM
Sitting at the No. 1 spot in the MIAA, No. 15/19-ranked Emporia State (9-1, 3-0 MIAA) comes into St. Joseph after beating Northeastern State in dominant fashion 89-77. After dropping its first game of the season, Emporia has won nine in a row, the longest active winning streak in the MIAA. Not only are the Hornets outscoring their opponents 821-702 and averaging 82.1 PPG, the second most in the league, but the team also leads the MIAA in points scored as well by a margin of 40. It's also tough to hang with the Hornets, as Emporia's average margin of victory of 11.5 points is also second in the conference. 

The Hornets also make their shots down the stretch, shooting 78.4% from the free-throw line, good for second in the MIAA. This is their first true road game of the season, going 1-1 in neutral-site games earlier this fall.
 
Who to Watch
One of the players contributing to the Hornets' massive offensive success is their 6-7 senior guard Alijah Comithier, who is second in the MIAA with 18.7 PPG. He also leads the team in rebounds with 5.7 RPG, putting him in 12th place in the conference. Comithier also has the best assist/turnover ratio in the MIAA at 4.0. Another player to watch is fellow senior guard Owen Long, who leads the MIAA and is tied for seventh in all of NCAA-II with 32 made threes this season. Alongside junior guard Solomon Oraegbu, Long is tied for fourth in the MIAA with 17.7 PPG. Comithier and Long also lead the MIAA with 61 made field goals. Long is lethal from long distance, leading the MIAA at 39.5% while averaging 3.2 treys per game. He is fourth in the MIAA with 37 assists and eighth with 3.7 APG.

Defensively, ESU is bolstered by the league's blocked shots leader, 6-10 senior center Darius Yohe, who has 26 this season. Junior guard Kaden Wells is second in the MIAA with 25 steals. 
 
Head Coach
Craig Doty is in his sixth season at Emporia. Last season, Doty led his program to its best season yet with the team going 23-9 and making the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Since 2018, Doty is 87-65 at ESU, 4-4 vs. MWSU, 2-4 vs. Martin and 0-3 in St. Joseph.
 
Rivalry Record Rabbit Hole
The Griffons lead the all-time series 48-35 and are 29-12 at home in St. Joseph. From 2001 to 2004, the Griffons held a seven-game winning streak against the Hornets. Currently, Missouri Western has a three-game win streak, dating back to Feb. 2, 2022. Emporia's last win against Western was on Jan. 6, 2022, in Emporia, Kansas. Its last win in St. Joseph was on Jan. 13, 2019.
 
Last Time We Met
Box Score
In their last matchup, the Griffons prevailed 65-60 on Feb. 4, 2023, inside the MWSU Fieldhouse. In that game, Dixon led the team with a then-career-high 19-point performance, shooting 8-of-16 from the field. Fields also had a monster game, collecting 15 total rebounds. Will Eames also contributed with 17 points. Despite 12 lead changes, the Griffons came back from down eight in the second half with big plays from Dixon and Fields.
 
12/16 - SCOUTING WASHBURN  | 3:30 PM
After winning swimmingly against Rogers State on Saturday, Dec. 9, the Washburn Inchabods (5-3, 1-1 MIAA) march into Civic Arena looking for yet another conference win. As of Dec. 12, the Ichabods lead the MIAA with 83.5 PPG, a field clip of 51.1%, a 3-point mark of 45.1% and a rebounding average of 39.8. However, Washburn leads the MIAA with 14 turnovers per game. They are 0-2 on the road and play Northwest Missouri State on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. in Maryville, Missouri.
 
Who to Watch
Sophomore guard Sam Ungashick is 13th in the MIAA with 15.4 PPG. Ungashick also leads the Ichabods in threes made, making 17-of-31 in the team's eight games. Defensively, sophomore forward Brady Christiansen and junior guard Keegan Michael are the big bodies in the middle for the Ichabods. Christiansen's slash of 7.4 RPG is sixth in the MIAA, while Michael's 10 blocks lead the team and rank him eighth in the conference.
 
Head Coach
Seventh-year man Brett Ballard has a 123-67 record at Washburn, holds the record for most wins in program history and has led the Ichabods to the NCAA Tournament four times in his tenure. Ballard and the Ichabods also won the MIAA Tournament back in 2021. Under his coaching, Ballard has also coached 15 All-MIAA players, eight different all-region selections, two MIAA Defensive Player of the Year winners and four All-MIAA Defensive Team selections in his six-year span. In his nine-year career, he is 156-97. Since joining Washburn in 2017, he is 9-6 vs. MWSU, 5-4 vs. Martin and 1-2 in St. Joseph.
 
Rivalry Record Rabbit Hole
Western trails in the all-time series 60-44, first playing in 1970. When at home vs. Washburn, MWSU is 26-23. Back on Feb 1, 2023, Missouri Western snapped a five-game losing streak at home against the Ichabods with an 81-80 win in overtime.
 
Last Time We Met
Box Score
Following the OT victory, the Griffons traveled to Kansas City, Missouri, to defeat the Ichabods 69-63 in the quarterfinal round of the MIAA Tournament 69-63 at Municipal Auditorium. Despite trailing 30-28 at halftime, MWSU outscored the Ichabods in the second half 41-33. Dixon once again put on a show, scoring a then-career-high 20 points. Fields also had himself a day, scoring 15 points and pulling down 16 rebounds to achieve the 11th double-double of his career. 
 
ON THIS DAY IN GRIFFON MBB HISTORY  
Dec. 16 | Box Score
The Griffons have not played a game on Dec. 16 since 2002. Back then, they defeated Seattle Pacific University 70-65 at Bill Greehey Arena in San Antonio, Texas. The Griffons dominated the first half, leading 37-22 thanks to big plays from MWSU Hall of Famers Larry Taylor and Damon Bailey. Although the Griffs were outscored in the second half 37-33, Missouri Western never lost its lead and was able to walk away with the victory. Taylor finished with a game-high 24 points, and Bailey brought home a double-double with 21 points and a game-high 12 rebounds. The win brought the Griffons' record to 6-1.