ST. JOSEPH, Mo. - Griffon Men's Basketball (14-8, 6-5 MIAA) returns home to battle Rogers State (14-7, 8-4 MIAA) on Thursday and Central Oklahoma (14-10, 7-5 MIAA) on Saturday.
 
Tip-off on Thursday is set for 7:30 p.m., while Saturday's game is set for a 3:30 start. The games will be broadcast on the Griffon Sports Network (Varsity Network App, GoGriffons.com/listen) with Voice of the Griffons Tommy Rezac on the call alongside Hall of Fame coach Tom Smith.
 
The game is also available to stream on the MIAA Network with a subscription. Thursday's game will be a Pink Out theme, while Saturday's game will centered around a celebration of 50 years of women's athletics at Missouri Western State University.
 
Last Time Out
Griffon Men's Basketball were fueled by a big second half in a 84-65 win at Northwest Missouri State on Saturday at Bearcat Arena.
 
MoWest, who's now taken four straight against the Bearcats, got off to a strong start at 13-4 with 12:28 left in the first half, which stretched to a 33-23 advantage with 4:13 to go before halftime.
 
Northwest made a run, tying the game at 35-35 with 1:21 to go in the first. However, an 'and-one' by William Kiburis with 58 seconds left gave MoWest a 38-35 lead at the break.
 
The Griffons never lost the lead in the second half, as Devin Butler scored 16 of his game-high 22 points in the final 20 minutes. A Butler three-pointer put the Griffs ahead by double figures at 64-54 with 9:40 left.
 
It was never close after that, as Northwest scored only nine points in the last nine minutes of the game. MoWest scored 24 points off of 20 Northwest turnovers, forcing a season-high 15 steals.
 
Behind Butler's 22, a MoWest career-high, Marko Pavlovic finished with 14 points and seven rebounds. Kiburis had 13 points to go with a team-high eight rebounds and career-high five steals. Ty Henry and Gavin Hershberger each finished with 12 points. Hershberger also had five steals, four rebounds and three assists. Henry added six rebounds.
 
MoWest shot 50.8% (33-of-65) from the field and 5-of-20 (25%) from three while also making 13-of-17 (76.5%) at the foul line.
 
Takin' Care of Basketball Business
MoWest ranks No. 1 in the MIAA and No. 16 in NCAA Division II with only 10.5 giveaways per game.
 
Finding Many Free Throws
MoWest currently leads the MIAA in made free throws (363) and is No. 3 in the league with 484 attempts for a free throw percentage of 75% (No. 4 MIAA). MoWest makes an average of 16.5 free throws per game (No. 1 MIAA) while averaging 22 attempts per contest (No. 3 MIAA).
 
King-Sized Career
Noah King, who's averaging 17 points per game (No. 8 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 2,123 career points as a college basketball player, including 749 points at Kirkwood CC and 1,001 in two seasons at Upper Iowa. He owns 134 career starts as well.
 
Marko's Mark
Freshman forward Marko Pavlovic ranks No. 3 in the MIAA in rebounds per game (7.7), No. 3 in field goal percentage (60.2%), and No. 4 in blocked shots (26). Pavlovic leads the MIAA with 59 offensive rebounds. His 169 total rebounds is good for No. 2 in the MIAA. Pavlovic has also logged five double-doubles this season.
 
Opponents at a Glance
Rogers State (14-7, 8-4 MIAA) finds itself in a tie for second place in the MIAA, currently on a three-game winning streak.
 
The Hillcats brought back nine players from the 2024-25 team that went 23-10 overall and 13-6 in the MIAA. RSU boasts a balanced scoring attack with five players averaging 10.6 points or more per game. Senior guard Andrew Mason is the leader in scoring with 13.5 points per game. Fellow senior Jabryn Anderson averages a team-best 6.2 rebounds a game to compliment 11.3 points per outing.
 
RSU boasts an assist-to-turnover ratio of 1.36 (t-2nd MIAA), averaging 17.7 assists per contests (No. 2 MIAA).
 
Series History
Thursday marks the 11th all-time meeting with Rogers State. The Hillcats lead the all-time series 6-4 and have won six of the last seven over the Griffons since March 2022. Twice, Rogers State has knocked MoWest out of the MIAA tournament - 2022 and again last March on a buzzer beater from Jabryn Anderson, lifing the Hillcats to a 59-56 victory.
 
Central Oklahoma (14-10, 7-5 MIAA) picked up two wins at home last week over Newman and Emporia State, and now the Bronchos have won seven of their last 10 games overall. UCO, who played in the MIAA tournament championship last March, went 19-13 last season.
 
The Bronchos returned 10 letterwinners from last year's squad, including three starters. Four transfers and five freshmen were added to the roster as well. One of the returning starters, Matthew Willenborg, sits No. 2 in the MIAA in scoring, averaging 20.7 points per game. He's also the league leader in rebounding with 9.2 per night. He leads the MIAA and ranks fifth in the D2 nation with 10 double-doubles on the season thus far. Willenborg also leads the MIAA with 72 blocked shots (No. 2 nation).
 
UCO currently leads the MIAA in blocked shots (97), while holding opponents to just 67.5 points per game (No. 3 MIAA).
 
Series History
Saturday marks the 29th all-time meeting with UCO. This series is currently dead even at 14-14, with each of the last eight meetings being split evenly since December 2016.