ST. JOSEPH Mo. – Missouri Western men's basketball (18-12, 9-10 MIAA) starts postseason play in the MIAA tournament quarterfinals Friday as the No. 6 seed in the bracket, taking on No. 3 seed Rogers State (22-9, 13-6 MIAA).

Tip-off from Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City on Friday is set for 2:15 p.m. The game will be broadcast live on the Griffon Sports Network (Varsity Network App, GoGriffons.com/listen) with Tommy Rezac on the call.

Pregame coverage will start at approximately 1:45 p.m., or shortly thereafter. The game will also be available to watch on the MIAA Network with a subscription.

The winner of this game advances to MIAA tournament semifinals on Saturday at 2:15 p.m. to face either Fort Hays State (2) or Central Missouri (7).
 
Griffon Sports Network (Varsity Network App, GoGriffons.com/listen)
Live broadcasts of Missouri Western athletics are available on The Varsity Network app. All home and away football games, along with all home and away men's and women's basketball games, are available to listen to for FREE on the Varsity Network App and at GoGriffons.com/listen.

Available on iPhone and Android, fans can access free audio streams for game days on the Varsity Network App. Fans can also receive push notifications as reminders for upcoming games and broadcasts.
 
Once you download The Varsity Network app, search 'Missouri Western' and select which Griffon teams you want to follow. For more information on The Varsity Network and how to listen live to the Griffons, click here. Audio broadcasts can also be found at GoGriffons.com/listen. Audio broadcasts will also be archived at GoGriffons.com/listen and on the Varsity Network App in the 'On Demand' section.

Went out Winners
Missouri Western built a 16-point lead in the first half and hung on down the stretch in an 82-78 win over Newman this past Saturday at MWSU Fieldhouse in St. Joseph.

Honoring eight seniors in all, Missouri Western jumped out to 34-18 lead with 9:24 to go in the first half. Newman (15-13, 8-11 MIAA) answered back and tied the game at 40-40 with 1:36 left before halftime.

Zane Nelson hit a three at the top of the key right at the end of the half to put the Griffs up 44-40 at the break.

Missouri Western, though locked in a close game, never lost the lead in the second half. With the score tied at 76-76 and two minutes to play, Matthew Schneider came off the bench and gave MWSU the lead for good on a layup with 46 seconds to go. Nelson made four free throws in the final 25 seconds to seal the deal.

Justin Bubak, who fouled out with 2:54 left, had a huge day with 19 points on 6-of-7 shooting, including a 5-of-6 effort from long range. Nelson finished with 18 points to go with six rebounds and six assists.

Julius Dixon logged his third double-double of the season and the fourth of his career with 15 points and a career-best 13 rebounds. Zion Swader had 12 points to go with five assists. Schneider came in and scored 7 points off the bench – all in the second half.

Worth Noting Historically
Eighteen wins in the regular season are the most for Missouri Western men's basketball since the 2002-03 season. Missouri Western has now logged back-to-back seasons with 17-plus wins for the first time since 2002-03.

Missouri Western men's basketball has had just six winning seasons since winning the MIAA tournament championship in 2003. Of those six winnig seasons, Will Martin has been a part of four of them – one as an assistant coach and now three as the head coach.

History with the Hillcats
Friday marks the 10^th all-time meeting with Rogers State. The Hillcats hold a 5-4 advantage in this series all-time, including victories in five of the last six meetings. Rogers State topped Missouri Western in Claremore, Oklahoma back on Feb. 6, 74-54 – the only regular season meeting between the two this year.

This game marks just the second meeting between these two teams in the MIAA tournament. Rogers State topped Missouri Western in a first-round battle back in 2022, 52-49.

Honoring the Best
Zane Nelson was a second-team all-MIAA selection this season after reaching second-team all GAC honors at Arkansas-Monticello the season prior. Nelson finished the regular season ranked fourth in the MIAA in scoring, amassing 465 total points (15.5 per game).

Nelson also excelled in assists, ranking third in the league with 137 (4.6 per game). In the season finale against Newman, he scored his 1,000th career point in NCAA competition.
 
Zion Swader earned his first All-MIAA honor with an honorable mention accolade. Swader ranked 13th in the league in field goal percentage (46%), making 125-of-268 attempts. He also ranked 13th with 42 steals (1.4 per game). Over the course of 111 career appearances and 86 career starts, Swader has accumulated 943 points, 288 rebounds, 208 assists and 122 steals.

New 1,000 point club member
Senior Julius Dixon is the 20th player in program history to eclipse 1,000 career points and the fifth to do so since coach Will Martin came on staff in 2018. Dixon has scored 1,051 points in 90 total games for Missouri Western – 89 of those being starts.

Dixon scored 136 total points in two seasons at Division I Morehead State, giving him 1,187 points in his entire collegiate career currently.
 
Rogers State Report
Despite their 22-9 record, Rogers State was not included in the most recent NCAA Division II Central Region rankings. The Hillcats have been one of the hotter teams in the league, winning nine of their last 12 games to end the regular season.

Anthony Marshall Jr.was named First Team All-MIAA for the Hillcats. He finished the regular season with 358 points, 110 assists, 84 rebounds, 25 steals and four blocks. Marshall leads the team in scoring, averaging 14.3 points per game and he ranks fifth in the MIAA with 4.4 assists per game. He's also 10th in the league with a 1.9 assist/turnover ratio.
 
Caden Fry and Andrew Mason were both named All-MIAA Honorable Mention for Rogers State as well. Fry leads the MIAA in total rebounds (222) and ranks third in rebounds per game (7.2).

Mason, meanwhile, finished the regular season second on the team with 11.2 points per game (348 total) with 94 rebounds, 39 steals, 24 assists and a team-high 24 blocks.

Head coach Justin Barkley has had an impressive run at Rogers State, as he's now in his 15^th season. He's led the Hillcats to winning seasons in 14 of those 15 seasons, including now eight 20-win campaigns.

Interview with Will Martin, Matthew Schneider