KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Playing for their postseason lives, Griffon Men's Basketball locked down Washburn on Wednesday afternoon, blocking six shots and forcing 15 steals in a 69-63 win in the opening game of the MIAA Tournament.
Missouri Western (14-15, 9-13 MIAA) was led
Julius Dixon's career-high 20 points and
Taye Fields' sixth double-double of the season, going off for 15 points and 16 rebounds. Fields got the scoring started with a layup in the opening minute, lighting a first-half lead that MWSU held on to for nearly the first 20 minutes of the game. Washburn tied the game with 1:20 left to play in the first thanks to a jumper from Tyler Nelson, eventually taking its first and only lead a few moments later with a pair of Andrew Orr free throws.
With the Ichabods (14-15, 11-11 MIAA) up at the break, 30-28, the Griffons quickly extinguished their only deficit of the day.
Will Eames knocked down a game-tying jumpshot with 17:56 to go in regulation, snowballing an eventual 8-0 run MWSU used to put Washburn behind for good. A
JaRon Thames dunk with 8:45 to play gave the Griffs their biggest lead of the afternoon at 53-43, but the 'Bods did not go away quietly.
After Washburn cut it to a 64-63 game with 34 seconds left to play,
Alex John slammed home a bucket to halt the Bods' momentum. Missouri Western went on to make all three of its free throws in the final 10 seconds of the game, with Thames making one and Fields sinking two to send the Griffons to the quarterfinal round.
NOTABLES
- Thames scored 15 points and recorded a career-high seven steals, which is tied for fourth most in a game by a Griffon.
- Zion Swader chipped in 11 points, meaning four Griffons scored in double-figures.
- Fields flirted with a triple-double, slinging a career-high seven assists for the second time this season.
- Washburn was held to 36% from the field in the second half, shooting just 11.1% (1-of-9) from three in the final 20 minutes of the game.
- Dixon set a new career-high with five makes from beyond the arc, going 5-for-9.
UP NEXT
With its first MIAA Tournament win since 2021 under its belt, Missouri Western takes on No. 1-seeded Northwest Missouri State (27-2, 20-2 MIAA). The No. 2/3 Bearcats had a bye in the first round, coming into the postseason as winners of 13 in a row. Tipoff is scheduled for noon on Thursday back in Kansas City at Municipal Auditorium.
