ST. JOSEPH, Mo. — Griffon Men's Basketball will celebrate two of their most decorated players in program history during Saturday's Senior Day showdown against Rogers State inside the MWSU Fieldhouse.
TICKETS + WHERE TO WATCH/LISTEN
Griffon MBB (15-9, 9-9 MIAA) will be broadcast on KFEQ Radio, as fans can tune in with "The Voice of the Griffons" Tommy Rezac 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.
SENIOR SENDOFF
Missouri Western will celebrate the following Griffon student-athletes and staff on Senior Day:
NOTABLES
- Western is currently eighth in the MIAA standings but can move up to sixth with a win and losses by Missouri Southern and Central Oklahoma.
- Western's 3-point defense is holding teams to 28.8%, the third-best mark in NCAA Division II.
- The Griffons are 11-3 at home this season.
- Thames is fifth in the MIAA with 15.3 ppg.
- Thames is also third in the conference in field goals made with 139. His clip of 51.9% ranks 11th.
- Junior guard Taye Fields is second in the MIAA with 233 boards and 9.3 per game.
- Fields also leads the MIAA with 69 offensive rebounds and 2.9 per game.
- Junior guard Julius Dixon is 13th in the MIAA with 40 threes made. Senior guard Reese Glover is tied for 18th with 38 threes.
- Glover needs four threes to hit 300 for his career, which would make him just the fifth player in MIAA history to do so.
- Fields is sixth in the MIAA with 92 assists. His 3.8 assists per game rank him eighth.
- With 29 blocks, junior forward Kiani Saxon is tied for sixth in the MIAA. Fields is tied for ninth with 23 rejections.
2/17 - SCOUTING ROGERS STATE | 3:30 PM
The Hillcats (13-10, 10-7 MIAA) are fifth in the conference and sit one game back of the third seed. Rogers is coming off an 84-63 loss to No. 11 Northwest Missouri State from Thursday night in Maryville, Missouri. The Hillcats are only 4-4 on the road this season.
Who to Watch
The Hillcats' scoring attack is spearheaded by senior forward Isaac Johnson, who is sixth in the MIAA with 15.2 ppg. He's joined by junior guard Kofi Hamilton, who is 20th in the MIAA With 5.1 rpg. Hamilton is also second in the league with a shooting clip of 62%. Johnson and junior guard Marshall Anthony Jr. are tied for fifth with 36 steals apiece.
Head Coach
In his 14th season at RSU, Justin Barkley is 263-143. Taking over for RSU in 2010 and first playing the Griffons in 2020, he is 3-4 vs. MWSU, 3-3 vs. Head Coach
Will Martin and 1-2 in St. Joseph.
Rivalry Record Rabbit Hole
Western leads the young all-time series 4-3 since first squaring off in 2020. The Griffs are 2-1 when RSU visits St. Joseph, and Martin is 3-3 vs. RSU in his four seasons as head coach.
Last Time We Met
Box Score
Western defeated RSU earlier this season 90-83 on Jan. 4 at the Claremore Expo Center. All five starters for MWSU scored in double figures and were led by junior guard
Zion Swader's game-high 22 points. Fields finished with 18 points and a game-high nine rebounds, dishing a game-high five assists in the process. The Griffs were red-hot from the field, shooting 59.6% overall 41.2% from deep.
ON THIS DAY IN GRIFFON MBB HISTORY
Feb. 17
Back when the school was known as Missouri Western State College, the 1999 Griffons went on the road and defeated Emporia State 79-47 in Emporia, Kansas. Western went on to finish 22-7 overall and 14-2 in the conference that season, finishing as MIAA Co-Champions and punching the program's ticket to the NCAA South Central Regional.
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