The Missouri Western men’s basketball team lost their third straight game as they fell on the road Wednesday at Central Missouri, 81-63. The Griffons got outscored 21-7 in the final 5:09 of the game dropping the Griffons to 7-9 overall and 2-6 in MIAA play.

Despite being undersized the Griffons hung in with Central Missouri going into the half down just four at 36-32. The most the Griffons trailed by during the first half was six points. The Mules opened up a five point lead at 11-6 after a Jordan Epps three with 15:36 to play in the half. Kalvin Balque gave the Griffons a spark off the bench making back-to-back three’s cutting the Mule lead to 18-17 with 10:33 to play in the half. The Griffons continued to play well tying the score at 21 after a layup by Charlie Marquardt with 8:10 to play.

The rest of the half the Mules would go inside to claiming the four point half time lead. The Mules dominated the points in the paint outscoring the Griffons 22-8. They also outrebounded the Griffons 25-18 which included 10-2 on the offensive end of the floor.

The Griffons shot just 40.7-percent (11-27) from the field but did make 5-of-9 long range shots and 5-of-6 free throws. Cortrez Colbert had four points and five rebounds in the half while Devers had three rebounds and three assists. For the first time since the Central Oklahoma game on December 21 the Griffons trailed in the turnover margin at half. They turned the ball over seven times to the Mules two.

The Mules were led by Dillon Deck with 11 points and nine rebounds while Charles Hammork had 10 points and two assists. The Mules shot just 38.5-percent (13-39) from the field and 25-percent (3-12) from long range.

The Mules opened up the second half going on a 15-6 run opening their biggest lead of the night at 51-38 after a Ryan Magdziarz three pointer. The Griffons continued to play hard and back-to-back three’s by Cortrez Colbert and Balque helped the Griffons cut the Mule lead to 55-50 with 8:39 to play.

The game stayed close and with 5:09 to play the Griffons trailed by just one at 60-56. Two Magdziarz long range shots extended the Mule lead to 10 which ended any chance at the Griffons upset. The Mules improve to 14-3 overall and 6-2 in MIAA play.

On the night the Griffons shot 43.8-percent (21-48) from the field and long range (7-16). The Griffons also shot the ball well from the free throw line making 14-of-20. Ryan Devers led the Griffons with 16 points and six rebounds while Balque finished with 15 points. Colbert had 13 points and six rebounds.

The Griffons got outscored 38-18 in the paint and 14-2 in points off turnovers. The Griffons got out rebounded 42-26 and 13-3 on the offensive end of the floor. The Mules scored 13 second chance points.

The Mules had four players score in double figures with Deck and Hammork each had 20. Deck also had 12 rebounds. Magdziarz had 17 points while Daylen Robinson pitched in 11.

Missouri Western returns to action on Saturday, January 18 with a home contest against the Southwest Baptist Bearcats. Game time is set for 1:30 pm in the MWSU Fieldhouse.

— MWSU Sports Information —

The Missouri Western women’s basketball team played another solid game on the road but fell 71-65 against the 8th ranked Central Missouri Jennies. The Griffons were led by Quenisha Lockett with a double double scoring 15 points and snaring 10 rebounds. The Griffons fall to 5-9 overall and 1-7 in league play.

Missouri Western got 10 first half points and 6 rebounds from Quenisha Lockett going into the half down seven at 31-24. The Griffons turned the ball over 10 times which led to 13 Central Missouri points. The Jennies jumped all over the Griffons in the first four minutes of the game taking a 12-2 lead after a Revonnia Howard layup with 16:00 minutes to play. The Griffons hung in there going on a 8-2 run cutting the UCM lead to 14-10 with 14:25 to play after a JaQuitta Dever layup.

The two teams played played the rest of the half with the Griffons getting as close at two at 20-18 after a Sharniece Lewis layup with 7:52 to play. The final eight minutes the Jennies outscored the Griffons 11-6 taking the seven point lead into the half. The Griffons shot 37.9-percent (11-29) from the field and outrebounded UCM 22-16. The Jennies were led by Howard with 12 points on 5-of-9 shooting. The Jennies mad 5-of-9 free throws and 12-of-30 field goals.

The Griffons came out of the half outscoring the Jennies 8-2 cutting the UCM lead to 33-32 after a three point play by Lanicia Lawrence with 17:11 to play in the game. The Jennies responded in the next five minutes going on 12-4 run taking a 45-36 lead with 12:34 to play.

Missouri Western continued to play hard cutting the lead to five with 8:46 to play after a Tiffanie Abrams layup. UCM expanded its lead to as many as 11 down the stretch but two three pointers by S. Lewis made things interesting. Here second three cut the UCM lead to 69-63 with under a minute to play. Unfortunately the Griffons did not get any closer than five the rest of the way.

The Griffons shot 42.9-percent (27-63) from the field but made just 7-of-15 free throws and 4-of-15 three pointers. JaQuitta Dever and Lewis finished with 14 and 11 points while Abrams and Lawrence both had seven.

The Jennies improve to 13-2 overall and 7-1 in MIAA play. They had three players score in double figures with Howard finishing with a game high 23 points while Keuna Flax and Shelby Winkelmann had 16 and 12 respectively.

Missouri Western returns to action on Saturday, January 18 with a home contest against the Southwest Baptist Bearcats. Game time is set for 1:30 pm in the MWSU Fieldhouse.

— MWSU Sports Information —