ST. JOSEPH, Mo. - Griffon Men's Basketball (13-8, 5-3 MIAA) stays on the road for a rematch with Northwest Missouri State (10-11, 3-7 MIAA) on Saturday.
Tip-off from Bearcat Arena in Maryville is set for 3:30 p.m. The game will be broadcast 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 coach Tom Smith as analyst.
The game is also available to watch on the MIAA Network with a subscription. MoWest looks to sweep Northwest in the regular season for a second year in a row after beating the Bearcats soundly, 99-77, in St. Joseph on December 2, 2025.
Last Time Out
Griffon Men's Basketball trimmed a 22-point deficit to six points late in the second half, but was unable to complete the comeback against No. 1 Washburn last Friday evening, falling 90–78 at Lee Arena in Topeka.
Ty Henry and
William Kiburis paced the Griffons with 19 points each. Henry scored his 19 on 8-of-12 shooting, including a 2-for-4 effort from three-point range, while adding two rebounds and a steal. Kiburis matched him with 19 points on 5-of-8 shooting and an 8-for-9 night at the free-throw line, pulling down seven rebounds with one assist and a steal.
Noah King followed with 13 points to go along with six rebounds, three assists, and a team-high three steals.
Gavin Hershberger talied 10 points on 3-of-6 shooting, knocking down two triples and dishing out four assists.
MoWest finished the game shooting 47.3 percent from the field (26-of-55), 35.3 percent from three (6-of-17) and 83.3 percent at the free-throw line (20-of-24).
Takin' Care of Basketball Business
MoWest ranks No. 1 in the MIAA and No. 12 in NCAA Division II with only 10.4 giveaways per game.
Finding Many Free Throws
MoWest currently leads the MIAA and ranks No. 16 in NCAA Division II in made free throws (350) and is No. 1 in the league with 463 attempts for a free throw percentage of 74.9% (No. 4 MIAA). MoWest makes an average of 16.7 free throws per game (No. 1 MIAA) while averaging 22.2 attempts per contest (No. 4 MIAA).
King-Sized Career
Noah King, who's averaging 17.3 points per game (No. 9 MIAA) this season, has scored at least 20 points in eight different games this season, including a career-best 31 in a 90-72 win over Arkansas Tech on November 28, 2025. King is up to 2,114 career points as a college basketball player, including 749 points at Kirkwood CC and 1,001 in two seasons at Upper Iowa. He owns 133 career starts as well.
Marko's Mark
Freshman forward
Marko Pavlovic ranks No. 3 in the MIAA in rebounds per game (7.7), No. 4 in field goal percentage (60.5%), and No. 4 in blocked shots (25). Pavlovic leads the MIAA with 56 offensive rebounds. His 162 total rebounds is good for No. 2 in the MIAA. Pavlovic has also logged five double-doubles this season.
Opponent at a Glance
Northwest Missouri State (10-11, 3-7 MIAA) scored a needed win this past Friday, going to Warrensburg and knocking off Central Missouri 80-79, thanks to a go-ahead basket from Royce Williams with two seconds left.
Prior to that, the Bearcats were on a five-game slide. Northwest got off to a 7-3 start this season, but have now gone 3-7 in their last 10, dating back to December 13.
Northwest welcomed back a pair of starters this season in juniors Jack Ratigan and Trey Moala, but it's an otherwise very new bunch with three freshmen and seven transfers added in the offseason.
One of those transfers is senior guard and the aforementioned Royce Williams, who leads Northwest with 13.4 points and 5.9 rebounds per game. He also leads the team with 34 steals and 71 assists. He also owns the best free throw percentage in the MIAA, shooting 90% (54-of-60), ranking No. 22 in the NCAA D2 nation in that category.
Another senior and transfer guard, Aiden Gair, averages 13 points per game behind a team-best 54 made three-pointers (No. 2 MIAA). Yet another transfer and senior guard, Matthew Mayes, averages 12.6 points per contest.
Series History
Saturday marks the 107th all-time meeting with Northwest. The Bearcats lead the series 67-39, but MoWest has started to turn the tide, winning each of the last three meetings. Last season, MoWest took both regular season contests from Northwest for the first time since the 1998-99 season.
