ST. JOSEPH, Mo. — Griffon Men's Basketball held No. 24-ranked Fort Hays State to just 12.5% from deep in a 2-for-16 shooting performance but fell 55-40 to the Tigers at home Thursday night at the MWSU Fieldhouse.

Taye Fields secured a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Griffons (14-6, 8-6 MIAA). JaRon Thames also added nine points and three steals, and Zion Swader chipped in as well with six points and two steals.

Fields pulled down five offensive rebounds to lead the Missouri Western offense, which grabbed 10 boards and turned them into nine second-chance points.

HOW IT HAPPENED
Western started out the scoring by going on a 6-0 run, culminating in a bucket from Fields, to take an early lead with 15:01 left in the first half. The Griffons then surrendered that lead and entered halftime down 22-21.

Hays kept widening its lead after intermission, constructing a 39-28 advantage before MWSU went on a 7-0 run, finished off by Julius Dixon's jumper, to shrink the deficit to 39-35 with 7:55 to go in the contest. Hays responded and outscored the Griffons the rest of the way, ending the game with a final score of 55-40. Western got out on the break in the period, scoring 10 fast break points.

GAME NOTES

• Fields 10-10 night earned him his second consecutive double-double, his fifth of the season and the 16th of his career.
• The Griffons held the Tigers to only 35.7% shooting from the field.
• Western is now 3-1 vs. top-25 teams this season.
• The team's 11-game winning streak inside the Looney Complex comes to an end. It goes down as the sixth-longest Looney winning streak in program history.

UP NEXT
Western gears up for Nebraska Kearney (5-14, 2-12 MIAA) next, facing the Lopers on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. back inside the MWSU Fieldhouse. Kearney has lost nine straight and fell to No. 16 Northwest Missouri State 105-53 on Thursday night in Maryville, Missouri.

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