CANYON, Texas - Senior
Zion Swader scored 18 points and grabbed seven rebounds to lead men's basketball (1-1) to a regional victory over the St. Cloud State Huskies (1-1) on the final day of the D2CCA Tipoff Classic at the First United Bank Center.
"No one cares when you get knocked down; you have to find a way to get back up," head coach
Will Martin commented following the win. "Our guys did a great job of that today and responded with the toughness necessary to have success." Martin added, "We aren't satisfied, but I'm proud we came together as a team to find a way!"
In the first half, nine different players scored for the Griffons, with
Zane Nelson and
Justin Bubak each contributing a team-high seven points.
MWSU also showcased strong defense in the first, which led to a late 8-1 run. They shut down the Huskies' offense at the last 5:27 of the half, and as a result, MWSU went into the locker room with a 38-26 lead.
Missouri Western picked up right where they left off in the second half. They started strong with a 9-1 run ignited by a second-chance slam dunk from Bukak that extended the lead to 20 points with 17:20 remaining.
SCSU did not go away quietly. With an 8-0 run at the 9:52 mark, they cut the MWSU lead to just five. However, a three-pointer from Swader halted the Huskies' momentum, as the Griffons would grind out the 80-73 finish to pick up their first win of the season.
Missouri Western shot 44% from the field, including 40% from behind the arch. Swader led the way with 18 points on 6-12 shooting and added three assists offensively. Nelson (16),
Kiani Saxon (12) and Bubak (12) also finished with double-figure scoring.
Defensively, MWSU outrebounded SCSU 38-26.
Kidtrell Blocker and Swader each finished with a team-high seven rebounds for the game.
The Griffons will open the Hillyard Tipoff Classic on Tom Smith Court next weekend against Northern State (S.D.) from the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference on Friday at 2:00 p.m. The game will be broadcast on the Griffon Sports Network (Varsity Network App, GoGriffons.com/listen) with pregame coverage starting at 1:30.
