The Missouri Western men’s basketball team had 10 players score with four being in double digits as they cruised past Sterling College 75-44 on Tuesday evening. James Harris led the charge off the bench with 13 points while Dzenan Mrkaljevic had a double-double scoring 10 points and snaring 17 rebounds in his first actino as a Griffon. The Griffons improve to 1-0 with the victory.

The new look Griffons scored the first bucket of the game and never looked back as they led by as many as 17 in the first half against NAIA opponent Sterling . The Griffons jumped out to a 10-4 lead making three of their first four shots.

The Griffons pushed its lead to 13 going on a 11-4 run which was capped by a free throw by James Harris with 8:01 left in the first frame, giving MWSU the 21-8 lead. The Warriors cut the Griffon lead to nine at 23-14 after Braden Thompson hit a lay-up with 4:26 to play but MWSU closed the half strong going on a 11-5 run claiming the 34-19 lead at the half.

MWSU had 12 points off nine Sterling turnovers. The Griffons had seven players score in the first frame with Dylan Frantz leading the way with eight points on 3-of-3 shooting. Mrkaljevic had eight of the Griffons 20 rebounds. MWSU had nine assists on 13-of-32 shooting

The Warriros made just 8-of-27 field goals with Adam Brown leading the way with five points.

The second half belonged to the Griffons as they opened the first 12 minutes on a 31-8 run opening up a 36 point lead at 62-29 after Harris nailed a long range shot with 7:54 to play. The Warriors ended the game outscoring the Griffons by five but it was too late as MWSU took the 31 point victory.

The Griffons shot 42-percent (29-69) from the field and 8-of-11 from the free throw line. Cedric Clinkscales dumped in 12 points on 5-of-7 shooting while Frantz dumped in 10 points on 4-of-7 shooting. The Griffons had 45 points and 28 points off second chance opportunites. MWSU also had 29 points off 20 Warrior turnovers to go along with 35 bench points.

The 17 rebounds by Mrkaljevic was the most since January 17, 2012 when Lavonte Douglas had 17 at Southwest Baptist.

The Warriors were led by Brown with 12 points as they shot 36.2-percent (17-47) from the field.

The Griffons return to action on Friday, November 16 and Saturday, November 17 when they host the 21st Annual Hillyard Tipoff Classic. The Griffons are 35-5 all-time in the Hillyard. MWSU will take on William Jewell College on Friday and Rockhurst University on Saturday. Both games are set for 7:30 pm in the MWSU Fieldhouse.

— MWSU Sports Information —