ST. JOSEPH, Mo. - Griffon Men's Basketball (20-10, 12-7 MIAA) enters the MIAA tournament as the No. 4 seed, and will rematch No. 5 seed Arkansas-Fort Smith (20-8, 11-8 MIAA) in quarterfinals on Friday night at 6 p.m. at Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City.
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, along with Hall of Fame coach Tom Smith as analyst. The game is also available to watch on the MIAA Network with a subscription. The winner moves onto semifinals on Saturday at 6 p.m. with the championship game set for Sunday at 3:30 p.m.
Last Time Out
Griffon Men's Basketball team overcame a six-point halftime deficit to pull away for a 97-82 win over Newman on Saturday in the regular season finale in Wichita, Kansas.
The Griffons finish the regular season with a 20-10 overall record, marking the program's first 20-win season since 2003, and doing so under first-year head coach Brooks McKowen, who's just the fourth head coach in program history to achieve a 20-win season.
MWSU shot 57.4% as a team, and Ty Henry led all scorers with a season and career-best 31 points (12-15 FG), going 5-7 from behind the arc. Marko Pavlovic dumped in a career-best 22 points on 7-9 shooting with three blocked shots. Noah King, William Kiburis and Gavin Hershberger had 12, 11 and 10 points respectively.
Setting the Standard
Two MoWest men's basketball players earned all-conference honors, with senior Noah King garnering second team all-MIAA honors. King, already with all-GLVC and JUCO All-American honors under his belt, sits No. 9 in the MIAA in scoring (16.2). King has scored in double figures in 25 games this year, including 10 games with 20 or more points.
King has made 143 collegiate starts and is up to 2,236 career points - 486 of those points have come this season at MoWest.
Meanwhile, senior Ty Henry picked up third team all-MIAA honors, averaging 14.3 points per game. Henry has been on fire as of late, scoring 18 points or more in seven of his last eight games.
Lightin' Up the Scoreboard
MoWest ends its regular season, having scored 90 or more points in three straight games. The Griffons, who have scored 90 or more in eight games this season, rank No. 3 in the MIAA in scoring offense (82.7). MoWest's 2481 points this season is third most in a single season in MWSU history.
Strength of Schedule
MoWest's schedule is ranked as the No. 3 toughest in NCAA Division II, per the Massey Ratings. MoWest has lost to only one team this season that has a losing record - at Truman State (12-16). Entering the MIAA tournament, MoWest is ranked No. 5 in the latest Central Region rankings.
Takin' Care of Basketball Business
MoWest ranks No. 1 in the MIAA and No. 8 in NCAA Division II with only 9.9 giveaways per game. The Griffs rank No. 2 in the MIAA with a +2.90 turnover margin and No. 2 in the league with a 1.41 assist-to-turnover ratio.
Finding Many Free Throws
MoWest is No. 1 in the MIAA and No. 20 in NCAA Division II in made free throws (506) and No. 1 in the league with 671 attempts for a free throw percentage of 75.4% (No. 2 MIAA). MoWest makes an average of 16.4 free throws per game (No. 1 MIAA) while averaging 22.4 attempts per contest (No. 2 MIAA).
The 506 made free throws are third most in a single season in MWSU history, while the 671 attempts are fourth most in a single season in the 56-year history of the program.
Marko's Mark
Freshman forward Marko Pavlovic ranks No. 3 in the MIAA in rebounds per game (7.5), No. 3 in field goal percentage (61.4%), and No. 4 in blocked shots (34).
Pavlovic ranks No. 3 in the MIAA with 71 offensive rebounds. His 211 total rebounds is good for No. 2 in the MIAA as well. Pavlovic has also logged five double-doubles this season.
Opponent at a Glance
Arkansas-Fort Smith (20-8, 11-8 MIAA) is one of four MIAA teams entering the conference tournament with 20 wins, entering the previous week ranked No. 4 in the Central Region. However, back-to-back losses to Central Oklahoma and Rogers State at home to end the regular season drops their regional ranking to No. 8, putting the Lions squarely on the bubble.
The Lions had a roaring start to the season, starting 13-0 with a national ranking that rose to No. 5. UAFS took their lumps in the back half of the season, but scored a 98-87 win at MoWest on February 19 - a game in which the Lions put up a season-high scoring output against an NCAA Division II opponent. UAFS also shot a season-best 62.9% from the floor in that game.
Arkansas-Fort Smith has been a strong three-point shooting team this season, ranking No. 3 in the MIAA in three-point percentage (35.9%). Their 271 made three-pointers is second most in the MIAA, as UAFS averages 11 made triples per outing.
UAFS is also a strong rebounding team, sitting No. 2 in the MIAA with 38.4 rebounds per game, including 11 offensive boards (No. 3 MIAA).
Arkansas-Fort Smith boasts three players who average 11 points per game or better, led by Brandon Scott (honorable mention all-MIAA), who's tallying 13.4 points per night. MIAA Newcomer of the Year and University of North Texas transfer Christian Moore is close behind with 12.2 points per game along with 4.6 assists per contest (No. 6 MIAA).
Series History
Friday marks just the fourth all-time meeting with UAFS and the first ever in the postseason. The Lions are 3-0 against the Griffons all-time, scoring wins over MoWest in the regular season in consecutive years.
