ST. JOSEPH, Mo. — While two Griffons notched double-doubles, Missouri Western Men's Basketball fell to the Rogers State Hillcats 58-56 at home Saturday afteroon on Rodney Battle's buzzer-beating shot at the MWSU Fieldhouse.
The Griffons (15-10, 9-10 MIAA) had four players score in double figures, led by JaRon Thames, who secured a double-double with 13 points and a career-high 12 rebounds. Reese Glover added 11 points, and Zion Swader chipped in as well with a double-double, collecting 11 points and a career-high 11 rebounds.
Kiani Saxon pulled down four offensive rebounds to pace the Missouri Western offense, which grabbed 17 boards and turned them into 15 second-chance points.
HOW IT HAPPENED
After jumping out to an 8-4 advantage, MWSU went on a 5-0 run with 14:30 left in the first half, culminating in a bucket from Saxon, to increase its lead to 13-4. The Griffons then surrendered that lead and entered halftime down 29-27.
Rogers (14-10, 11-7 MIAA) kept widening its lead after intermission, constructing a 48-44 advantage before MWSU went on a 9-0 run, finished off by Thames' layup, to seize a 53-48 lead with 6:00 to go in the contest. Rogers re-asserted control, outscoring the Griffons 10-3 the rest of the way to hand MWSU the 58-56 loss.
GAME NOTES
- Thames recorded his fourth double-double of the season and the eighth of his career. It's also his second straight.» Missouri Western State lost despite a 48-27 rebounding advantage.
- This is Swader's first career double-double.
- Western cleaned up on the offensive glass, collecting 17 offensive boards in the game.
UP NEXT
The Griffons will play No. 11 Northwest Missouri State (21-4, 17-2 MIAA) this Saturday at 3:30 p.m. at Bearcat Arena in Maryville, Missouri. The Bearcats have won 10 in a row, last defeating Northeastern State 73-56 on Saturday in Maryville.
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