ST. JOSEPH, Mo. — A scolding 9-0 when playing on campus this season, Griffon Men's Basketball returns to the friendly confines of the Looney Complex for a Thursday night showdown with No. 24-ranked Fort Hays State inside the MWSU Fieldhouse.

TICKETS + WHERE TO WATCH/LISTEN
Griffon MBB (14-5, 8-5 MIAA) will once again hit the airwaves of KFEQ Radio, as fans can tune in with "The Voice of the Griffons" Tommy Rezac and analyst on the call. The games will air on KFEQ - AM 680 and the KFEQ Live Stream. 

Games are also available to watch for a subscription fee on the MIAA Network. The pregame show starts 30 minutes prior to tipoff. Game admission can be found in the "Tickets" tab.

WHITEOUT NIGHT
Thursday's basketball doubleheader vs. Fort Hays State will have a whiteout theme. All fans are encouraged to wear white, and students will receive free rally towels and a chance to win a gift card.

NOTABLES

• With 11 straight wins inside the Looney Complex dating back to the 2022-23 season, this marks the program's sixth-longest winning streak inside the Fieldhouse.
• Missouri Western is tied with Rogers State for fourth place in the MIAA standings. Western beat RSU head-to-head on Jan. 4.
• The Griffons are no longer in the NABC Top-25 Poll. However, they are 3-0 vs. ranked teams this season, beating all of them in St. Joseph.
  • 75-72 W vs. No. 21 Northern State | 76-54 W vs. No. 15 Emporia State | 76-70 W vs. #14 Northwest Missouri State.
• Western's 3-point defense is holding teams to 29.5%, good for first in the MIAA and seventh in NCAA Division II. 
• The Griffons are the third-best rebounding team in the conference, pulling down 36.4 rebounds per game. They are also third with 26.8 defensive rpg.
• Thanks to a rebounding margin of 5.1, MWSU is third in the MIAA.
• Putting up 76.2 ppg, MWSU is fifth in the MIAA.
• Shooting 47% from the field, MWSU is sixth within the conference. Western's shooting defense is fourth at 42.6%.
• With 75 blocked shots, MWSU is third in the MIAA. Western is also third in the conference and 43rd in the nation with 3.95 blocks per game.
• Senior forward JaRon Thames is eighth in the MIAA with 15.8 ppg. Junior guard Zion Swader is 22nd with 12.5 ppg.
• Thames is also third in the conference in field goals made with 117. His clip of 54% ranks ninth. Junior guard Taye Fields is 12th at 50%. 
• With 652 minutes played, Thames is ninth in the MIAA.
• Fields is second in the MIAA with 177 boards and 9.3 rpg, ranking him 18th and 20th in each category throughout DII.
• With 124 defensive rebounds, Fields is second in the MIAA and 20th in DII. His average of 6.5 defensive rpg ranks him second in the conference and 22nd in the country.
• Fields also leads the MIAA with 53 offensive rebounds and 2.8 per game.
• Dixon is tied for eighth in the MIAA with 35 threes made. Senior guard Reese Glover is tied for 11th with 31 threes, and Swader is tied for 12th with 30.
• Swader is seventh in the MIAA with a free-throw clip of 83.1%. Fields is ninth at 79.7%, and Thames is 15th at 76.3%.
• Fields is fourth in the MIAA with 79 assists. His 4.2 assists per game rank him fifth as well.
• With 26 blocks, junior forward Kiani Saxon is fifth in the MIAA. Fields is tied for eighth with 20 rejections.

2/1 - SCOUTING NO. 24 FORT HAYS | 7:30 PM
Now on a three-game winning streak, Fort Hays (15-4, 10-3 MIAA) is coming off a clean Kansas sweep of Washburn and Emporia State. With three consecutive wins, it's Hays' second-longest streak of the season. The Tigers, however, do come in with a 4-4 road record, last losing when away on Jan. 13 in a 74-62 defeat at Pittsburg State. 

The Tigers are top of the class in the country when it comes to their scoring defense, giving up only a DII-low 58.4 ppg. With a scoring margin of 9.5, Hays is third in the MIAA  The Tigers' shooting defense is also holding teams to a league-low 39.7%, good for eighth in the country. Hays is also second in the MIAA with a turnover margin of 4.21. 

Who to Watch
Junior guard Kaleb Hammeke is Hays' lone representative on the MIAA's top-25 scoring leaderboards, sitting in 12th with 15.5 ppg. Hammeke is also deadly from deep, tied with Glover for 11th in the MIAA with 31 drained threes. He also doesn't miss much from the line, possessing a free throw percentage of 89.2, good for third in the conference. Hammeke is tied with Fields for fourth with 79 assists.

Also fourth in the MIAA with 691 minutes, Hammeke is third with an assist/turnover ratio of 2.3. Rebounding-wise, Hays has three players on the MIAA's top-25 list, with junior forward Shaun Riley leading the way in 17th place thanks to 5.1 rpg. Senior guard Elijah Nnanabu is second on the team with 11.8 ppg.

Head Coach
One of the longest-tenured coaches in the MIAA, Mark Johnson is Fort Hays' all-time coaching wins leader in program and school history with a career record of 443-216. Johnson's record ranks in the top-25 active NCAA Division II men's basketball coaches in winning percentage at 69.9. He has led the Tigers to seven NCAA Tournament appearances and has coached four All-America selections and 63 all-conference Selection in his 23-year span. Johnson is 4-3 vs. Head Coach Will Martin and 19-11 vs. the Griffs since first playing in 2007. However, he is 6-8 when playing the Griffs in St. Joseph.

Rivalry Record Rabbit Hole
Since first playing in 1977, Western is 19-38 against Hays. The Griffons are 13-14 when the Tigers come to St. Joseph but won the most recent home outing on Jan. 10, 2023, beating Hays 62-55 at the Fieldhouse. The Tigers have claimed the last two matchups and have won four out of the last five meetings.

Last Time We Met
Box Score
With No. 22-ranked MWSU on the road, the Griffons lost to the Tigers 73-49 on Dec. 9, 2023, at Gross Memorial Coliseum. Thames led the Griffons with 11 points, but the team only shot 32% from the field and 22.7% from deep. The loss knocked MWSU out of NABC Top-25 Poll after entering it earlier that week. 

ON THIS DAY IN GRIFFON MBB HISTORY
Feb. 1 | Box Score
The Griffons of 2019 picked up their fourth consecutive win with an 81-57 masterclass over Newman in Wichita, Kansas. Tyrell Carroll dropped a game-high 22 points with a 9-of-14 shooting performance, dishing six assists to his teammates. Tyus Millhollin and Thames both had 13, Glover scored 12 and Will Eames chipped in with 11 points. The Jets were grounded from the field, only shooting 30.5%. Western never trailed, committing only seven turnovers while holding Newman to two assists.