ST. JOSEPH, Mo. - Griffon Men's Basketball (6-2) begins MIAA conference play with a home game against Northwest Missouri State (6-2) on Tuesday night.
Tip-off from the MWSU Fieldhouse in St. Joseph is set for 7:30 p.m. The game will be carried live on the Griffon Sports Network (Varsity Network App, GoGriffons.com/listen) with Voice of the Griffons Tommy Rezac on the call and Hall of Fame Griffon basketball coach Tom Smith serving as the analyst.
The game is also available to watch on the MIAA Network with a subscription.
A Quick Recap
Griffon Men's Basketball exploded with 55 second half points and overcame a first half deficit, downing Arkansas Tech 90-72 this past Friday at the MWSU Fieldhouse.
MoWest, winners of three straight and a perfect 4-0 at home, got off to a somewhat slow start, trailing 20-11 with 13:41 left in the first half.
The Griffs stayed in it, but never led in the first half, trailing 39-35 at halftime. MoWest took the lead for good at the 16:33 mark of the second half, thanks to a Noah King three-pointer.
A 13-3 Griffon run in the last eight minutes put MoWest in control at 82-66 with 4:39 remaining.
King put up a new collegiate career-high with 31 points on 10-of-18 shooting, including 4-of-10 from three. King was also 7-of-8 on the foul line. Ty Henry tied a season-best with 16 points, while Trey McKowen came off the bench and set a new season-high with 15 points. William Kiburis chipped in 12 points on 4-of-7 shooting. Marko Pavlovic led the way in rebounding with 11 in all.
MoWest shot a blistering 18-of-27 (66.7%) in the second half and 30-of-59 (50.8%) on the day. The Griffs tied a season-high with 13 made three-pointers, going 13-of-31 (41.9%).
Statistical Notables
MoWest has made 68 three-pointers on the young season, ranking third in the MIAA in that category. The team's 1.42 assist-to-turnover ratio currently sits at fourth best in the league.
Freshman starting forward Marko Pavlovic has impressed out of the gate, ranking 5th in the MIAA in rebounds per game (7.1) and second in blocked shots (8).
Opponent at a Glance
Northwest has already tied its win total from a season ago under second year head coach Matt Keeley, as the Bearcats are off to a 6-2 start with wins over NCAA Division II members Missouri-St. Louis, St. Cloud State, Augustana and Northern State. They also own wins over NAIA members Missouri Valley and York University (NE).
Northwest welcomes back a pair of starters in juniors Jack Ratigan and Trey Moala, but it's an otherwise very new bunch with three freshmen and seven transfers added.
One of those transfers is senior guard Aiden Gair, who leads Northwest with 13.8 points per game. Another transfer and senior guard, Matthew Mayes, is close behind with 12.9 points per contest. Mayes is also a defensive standout, leading the team with 14 steals (4th MIAA).
Tuesday will be the 106th all-time meeting with Northwest. The Bearcats lead the series 67-38, but MoWest has started to turn the tide, winning each of the last three meetings against the 'Cats. Last season, MoWest swept both meetings with Northwest for the first time since the 1998-99 season.
