ST. JOSEPH, Mo. — While Nebraska Kearney was busy blowing a 13-point lead, JaRon Thames blew out his birthday candles with a 23-point outburst to lead Missouri Western to a must-have win on Thursday at the MWSU Fieldhouse.

Freshly feeling 22, Thames led the Griffons to an 83-78 victory to snap a three-game skid and keep Missouri Western's MIAA Tournament hopes alive. That almost wasn't the case in the first half, as MWSU (12-15, 8-13 MIAA) trailed UNK, 36-23, with just over three minutes to play in the first half. The Lopers (5-22, 3-18 MIAA) were led by 21 first-half points by Darrian Nebeker, taking a 38-29 edge into halftime. 

Slowly but surely, the Griffons kicked their offense into another gear in the second half, trimming UNK's lead down to three with 7:48 to play thanks to a Julius Dixon layup. Thames torched all of UNK's momentum a minute later, scoring a bucket with a foul to boot, converting the and-one play to tie the game at 59-59. Reed Kemp completed the 9-0 run with a midrange jumper to give the Griffons their first lead since the 7:42 mark of the first half.  

Kearney took the lead back one more time thanks to a 3-pointer by Matt Brien, but another Thames layup led to a Reese Glover triple, putting Missouri Western up for good and igniting a 22-14 Griffon run to close out the night.

 NOTABLES

• Both Thames and Taye Fields recorded double-doubles, with Thames snagging 11 rebounds while his Griffon counterpart went off for 15 points and 11 boards of his own.
• This is Thames' second double-double of the season, as well as Fields' fifth.
• This is the first time two Griffons have tallied a double-double on the same night since Alex Martin and Lavon Hightower did so against Winona State on Nov. 9, 2018.
• Two other Griffons scored in double-digits, as Dixon and Zion Swader chipped in 15 and 14 points, respectively.
• Nebeker was held to just nine points in the second half.
• Missouri Western set a new season-high with 21 made free throws, attempting a season-high of 25 for the second time this season after doing so last Saturday vs. Northwest Missouri State.
• This 83-point performance marks a season-high for MWSU.
• This is Will Martin's 40th win as head coach of the Griffons.
• Missouri Western is currently still alive in the race to the MIAA Tournament, currently sitting in ninth place.

UP NEXT
Missouri Western caps off the regular season with a pivotal matchup vs. Pittsburg State (8-19, 5-16 MIAA) on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. inside the MWSU Fieldhouse. If Missouri Western wins on Saturday, the Griffons will be locked in as the ninth seed no matter what happens between Northeastern State and Central Missouri. If the Griffons lose, they will need the RiverHawks to defeat UCM in order to take the 10th and final spot in Kansas City.