TAHLEQUAH, Okla. — Avenging a heartbreaking loss earlier this January, Griffon Men's Basketball nearly led for all of Thursday night in a 54-41 win over Northeastern State at the NSU Events Center.
Northeastern's (10-11, 7-10 MIAA) only lead came off the first two free throws of the game, with Dillon Bailey sinking two at the charity stripe within the first 13 seconds of the game. Missouri Western (11-12, 7-10 MIAA) promptly replied with a 12-2 run, going up by as much as nine points in the first half thanks to a
Julius Dixon 3-pointer. The Griffons carried a 28-22 lead into halftime, capping off the half with a
Reed Kemp three.
With another Kemp connection from downtown at the 15:13 mark of the second half, MWSU never let its lead dip below 12 points for the rest of the evening. A dunk from
Taye Fields a few minutes later gave the Griffons their largest lead of the contest to that point, putting them up by 16. A pair of Dixon free throws with 97 seconds left to play gave the Griffs an 18-point lead that put NSU down for good.
NOTABLES
- NSU is 3-7 since defeating MWSU on Jan. 2. The 'Hawks started the season 9-5.
- This snaps a five-game losing streak on the road for MWSU.
- Currently at 1,161 points, Eames needs four more to pass Randy Dickerson (1998-00, 1,164 points) for eighth all-time in program history.
- Eames led all players with 10 rebounds.
- Dixon led all Griffons with 13 points, surpassing the 300-point mark for this season.
- Kemp scored 11 points in 15 minutes, making a career-high 3-of-4 shots from beyond the arc. The Griffons are also 3-0 when Kemp starts this season.
UP NEXT
Missouri Western travels an hour up north to take on Rogers State (12-11, 8-9 MIAA) in Claremore, Oklahoma. The Hillcats lost to No. 4/6 Northwest Missouri State on Thursday in Claremore, 67-51. Tipoff is slated for 3:30 p.m. at the Claremore Expo Center.
