ST. JOSEPH, Mo. – MIAA play starts this week for No. 25 Missouri Western men's basketball (7-1) against rival Northwest Missouri State (1-5) on the road Tuesday and Emporia State (2-5) at home Saturday night. Western will look to extend its seven-game winning streak into conference play against the Bearcats and Hornets.
 
Action will commence tomorrow at 7:30 p.m. against Northwest inside Bearcat Arena in Maryville. Tommy Rezac will be on the call, and pregame coverage will begin 30 minutes before the contest.
 
The MIAA home opener against Emporia State will be held on Tom Smith Court inside the MWSU Fieldhouse on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. The theme for the game is 'Paint It Black Night.' Play-by-play commentary will be provided by either Tommy Rezac or Kyle Schmidt from News-Press Now, with pregame coverage beginning at 7:00 p.m. 
 
WATCH - MIAA NETWORK
All MIAA football, women's soccer, volleyball, men's basketball and women's basketball, baseball and softball regular season conference games will be streamed live on the MIAA Network. The MIAA Network showcased over 1,500 live broadcasts for its 14 member schools last season. For more information, visit https://www.themiaanetwork.com/.
 
LISTEN - GRIFFON SPORTS NETWORK (Varsity Nework App & GoGriffons.com/listen)
Live streams of Missouri Western athletics are now available on The Varsity Network app! All home and away football and men's and women's basketball games will be available to listen to for FREE on the Varsity Network App and at GoGriffons.com/listen. Available on iPhone and Android, fans can access free audio streams for game days on the Varsity Network App. Fans can also receive push notifications as reminders for upcoming games and broadcasts.
 
Once you download The Varsity Network app, search 'Missouri Western' and select which Griffon teams you want to follow. For more information on The Varsity Network and how to listen to the Griffons, click here. Audio broadcasts can also be found at GoGriffons.com/listen. Audio broadcasts will also be archived at GoGriffons.com/listen in the 'On Demand' section, and on the Griffon Sports Insider Podcast, which is available on Spotify, Apple and wherever you podcast.
 
RANKED GRIFFONS
After a remarkable six-game winning streak leading up to their victory against William Jewell, the Griffons ranked 25th in the most recent D2CSC Media Poll. This marks their first ranking of the season. Furthermore, they received 25 votes in last week's NABC Coaches Poll, ranking fourth for the most votes in all of Division II.
 
TOP GRIFFON PERFORMERS
Zane Nelson has been exceptional for the Griffons. The senior leads the team with 130 points, averaging 16.3 points per game and boasting a shooting percentage of 47% (45-for-96). In addition, he has recorded 40 rebounds, dished out 30 assists, and made 11 steals.
 
Zion Swader has had an impressive senior season. He has averaged 12.4 points per game and leads the team with 19 steals. Additionally, he has recorded 42 rebounds and 16 assists.
 
Senior Julius Dixon leads the team with 52 rebounds, while Senior Kiani Saxon tops the charts with nine blocks for the Griffons. Additionally, Senior Justin Bubak has shined with a shooting percentage of 52%.
 
HISTORY AGAINST NORTHWEST MISSOURI STATE
This Saturday's matchup between the Griffons and Bearcats marks the 61st meeting between the two teams since 2000. Last season, MWSU ended a 24-game losing streak against the Bearcats with a 76-70 victory in St. Joseph. However, they have not beaten Northwest in Maryville since the 2008-09 season.
 
ABOUT THE BEARCATS
Northwest Missouri State finished the 2023-24 season with a record of 29-5 (20-2 MIAA) en route to the MIAA Championship. They were picked to finish fourth in the 2024-25 MIAA Preseason Coaches' Poll with 125 points and one first-place vote.
 
The Bearcats have had difficulty establishing a rhythm early in the season. They began the season with two losses to Augustana and Wayne State from the NSIC at the Hillyard Tip-Off Classic before securing their only win of the season against Chadron State the following week. Last weekend, NWMSU faced two more defeats, falling to No. 18 Southwest Minnesota State and Concordia-St. Paul at the Peacock Classic in Fayette, Iowa.
 
HISTORY AGAINST EMPORIA STATE
Since the 2000-01 season, the Griffons and Hornets have faced each other 41 times, with Western having a slight edge in the series at 21-20. In 2023, the teams each secured a victory; MWSU won 76-54 in St. Joseph, while ESU triumphed 70-56 in Emporia later in the season. The Griffons head into the contest 13-6 at home.
 
ABOUT THE HORNETS
Emporia State finished the 2023-24 season with a record of 19-12 (12-10 MIAA) and was picked to finish ninth in the 2024-25 MIAA Preseason Coaches' Poll with 79 points.
 
Like Northwest, Emporia has had a tough start to the season. They began with a narrow 67-66 loss to Wayne State, followed by a decisive 83-69 victory over Northern State in the Hillyard Classic. However, Emporia then faced a four-game losing streak before securing a 69-61 win last weekend against NAIA Peru State.
 
RECAP AGAINST WILLIAM JEWELL
Senior Ethan Kilgore's last-second jumper lifted the Griffons, who ranked 25th in the latest D2CSC Media Poll, to a 78-77 comeback win over William Jewell on Tuesday night at Tom Smith Court. MWSU erased a 15-point second-half deficit for the second straight game to extend the winning streak to seven 
 
Missouri Western faced challenges early in the game against William Jewell, who built a lead as large as 11 points in the first half. The Cardinals led for 18:32 before heading into the locker room with a 40-29 advantage. The Cardinals controlled the paint, outshooting the Griffons 20-10 and converting on five fast breaks.
 
The Griffons flipped a switch in the second half, with senior Nelson spearheading the offensive effort by scoring nine points on a 4-for-7 shooting display. MWSU finished the half with 18 points scored in the paint and took advantage of six second-chance points.
 
Midway through the second half, the Griffons went on a 13-0 run, fueled by Saxon's five points, which cut the 15-point deficit down to just three with 6:06 remaining in regulation. Later in the half, after the Cardinals had regained a six-point lead, a three-pointer from Nelson tied the game at 66-66. He then gave the Griffons their first lead of the half with a layup on the following possession. However, a clutch jumper from WJC's Bradley Lightbourne as time expired sent the game into overtime.
 
Senior Swader drained a deep three-pointer assisted from fellow senior Dixon, helping to grab early momentum in the overtime period. The two teams were closely matched for the remainder of the game, resulting in three lead changes and two ties. With just four seconds left and the score at 77-76, Kilgore made the game-winning shot, assisted by Swader, to secure the thrilling 78-77 comeback victory.
 
Five different Griffons scored in double figures, led by Swader with 17 points. Dixon followed with 16, Nelson contributed 15, Saxon added 13 and Bubak finished with 11. MWSU outrebounded WJC 39-30 and tallied 16 points from second-chance opportunities.
 
LOOKING AHEAD
The Griffons will play at Tom Smith Court two more times before the holiday break. Their upcoming games are against Kansas Christian (Education Day) on Wednesday, December 18, at 11:00 a.m., and against Truman State on Saturday, December 21, at 3:30 p.m. Tickets can be purchased at https://gogriffons.com/sports/2020/10/7/box-office.aspx.