ST. JOSEPH, Mo. - Griffon Men's Basketball (10-2, 2-0 MIAA) concludes its non-conference schedule on Saturday with a trip to Kirksville, Missouri to face GLVC member Truman State (3-7, 1-2 GLVC).

Tip-off from Pershing Arena in Kirksville is set for 3 p.m. The game will be streamed live on the GLVC Sports Network (GLVCSN.com).

MoWest seeks its seventh straight win overall, and looks to remain unbeaten against Great Lakes Valley Conference teams. The Griffs are 4-0 against the GLVC this season with wins over UMSL, Quincy, William Jewell and Rockhurst.

A Quick Refresh
Griffon Men's Basketball used a big second half to pull away from Avila in a 92-81 win on Tuesday in the Midland Empire Education Day Game, presented by Moffet Nursery and Garden Shop, at MWSU Fieldhouse in St. Joseph.

The reported attendance was 3,012, as K-6 students from 20 area schools in eight area counties packed the stands.

MoWest, who never led in the first half, took their first lead at 45-43 within the first 46 seconds of the second half off of a Noah King three-pointer.

The Griffons shot 22-of-38 (57.9%) from the field in the second half and scored 52 points in the last 20 minutes to eventually pull away, leading by as many as 14 points in the closing moments.

MoWest shot 10-of-31 from three (32.3%) and 37-of-80 (46.3%) overall, while hitting 8-of-12 (66.7%) at the foul line.

King led the way with a game-best 24 points to go with eight rebounds and four assists.

Gavin Hershberger had a season-best 19 points on a 5-of-9 effort from three. Ty Henry scored 15 points to go with seven rebounds. Marko Pavlovic scored 14 points to go with a team-best nine boards and a career-high tying four blocked shots.

Sharp Shooters
MoWest has made 101 three-pointers on the young season, ranking fourth in the MIAA and tying for 15th in the nation in that category.

O-Board Boys
MoWest ranks No. 3 in the MIAA with 12.3 offensive rebounds per game, collecting 148 total through the first 12 games. The 148 o-boards is the 17th most of all teams in NCAA Division II.

Takin' Care of Basketball Business
The Griffs' 1.44 assist-to-turnover ratio is currently third best in the league and 26^th best in NCAA Division II. Their turnover margin of +4.08 ranks fourth best in the MIAA as well.

In fact, MoWest ranks No. 1 in the MIAA and No. 3 in NCAA Division II with only 9.6 giveaways per game.

Individual Standouts
Noah King has been a scoring machine thus far, averaging 18.2 points per game (6th MIAA). King has scored at least 20 points in six different games this season, including a career-best 31 in a 90-72 win over Arkansas Tech on November 28.

King is up to 1,968 career points as a college basketball player, including 749 points at Kirkwood CC and 1,001 over two seasons at Upper Iowa.

Ty Henry has been the go-to on the free throw line for MoWest, sinking 28-of-32 attempts (87.5%), putting him fourth best in the MIAA.

Freshman starting forward Marko Pavlovic has impressed out of the gate, ranking third in the MIAA in rebounds per game (7.8) and second in blocked shots (18). His 18 blocks is tied for 14^th most amongst all players in NCAA Division II.

Pavlovic also leads the league currently with 39 offensive rebounds – tied for sixth most amongst all players in NCAA Division II.

Opponent at a Glance
Truman State started the season 2-1, but has suffered a four-game losing streak since Dec. 6, most recently falling to NCAA Division II member Hillsdale College at home on Tuesday, 88-84.

Four of Truman State's seven losses this season have come by nine points or fewer. The Bulldogs have struggled defensively, giving up just north of 80 points per game. They've struggled offensively to hit three-pointers with a GLVC-worst 58 made triples.

Sophomore guard Jahki Parrinello leads the Bulldogs in scoring with 16.6 points per game (9^th GLVC). Senior guard and NCAA Division I Sanford transfer Julian Brown is averaging 14.6 points per outing.

Senior center and Staley High School graduate Emmanuel Byrd, a Washburn transfer, is the lead rebounder with 8.8 boards per game (3^rd GLVC).

Truman State is under new leadership this year with Mike Worley taking over as head coach after 12 years as an assistant at NCAA Division I Troy. He added seven transfers to the roster this season, including two from MIAA schools.

Series History
A former MIAA rivalry, Saturday marks the 67^th all-time meeting with Truman State. The Griffons own a 39-27 advantage in this series, but it's the Bulldogs who have won four of the last five meetings, including a 53-43 decision in St. Joseph on Dec. 21, 2024.

Brooks McKowen saw Truman State nine times when he was the head coach at Upper Iowa, and owns a 5-4 career record against the Bulldogs.