The Board of Governors at Missouri Western State University has approved the selection of Ellison-Auxier LLC to provide architectural and design services on the Spratt Stadium project.

Jeff Ellison of Ellison-Auxier provided some preliminary conceptual drawings and layouts for fundraising efforts and the public announcement of the plan to make approximately $7.8 million in improvements to Spratt Stadium, including the construction of a new concourse, concessions are, restrooms, club level (including suites) and press box on the home side.

In moving beyond the preliminary phase, board policy requires that the university issue a Request for Qualifications on projects over $1 million. Five architectural firms responded to the RFQ, which was issued Dec. 1. A selection committee comprised of two governing board members and six university administrators reviewed the proposals and voted 8-0 to recommend Ellison-Auxier based on:

·         Prior experience working with similarly sized institutions.
·         Significant prior experience with building design on Missouri Western’s campus and with all aspects of the university’s facilities, grounds and fiscal constraints.
·         Direct experience with similarly sized stadium renovation projects, in particular Northwest Missouri State University’s football stadium renovation.

Ellison-Auxier can now move forward to finalize design plans and prepare bid specifications.

— MWSU Sports Information —

Big free throws in the final seconds helped MIAA-leading Central Oklahoma hold off a comeback effort by the Missouri Western men’s basketball team Saturday in the MWSU fieldhouse.  UCO held off the Griffons for a 62-57 victory over MWSU.

A free throw from Western’s Cortrez Colbert tied the game at 57 with 1:15 remaining. It was the first time the Griffons had not trailed since the 6:22 mark of the first half. Missouri Western never took the lead and the Bronchos made five free throws down the stretch to complete the five-point victory.

The Griffons drop to 5-5 on the season and 1-2 in the MIAA.

A 14-1 run in the final 9:29 of the first half proved to be too much for Missouri Western. The Griffons led 15:13 with just 11 minutes to go before halftime. The Griffons scored just three points the rest of the half as Central Oklahoma scored 14 to take a 27-18 lead to the break. The Bronchos stretched the lead to 10 early in the second half but Missouri Western was able to claw back before ultimately coming up short.

The Griffons shot 39 percent from the field, 13 percent from three-point range and 73 percent from the line. They forced 22 UCO turnovers and had 13 steals. The Bronchos dominated the boards, outrebounding the Griffons by 10.

For the second straight game, Cortrez Colbert led all players with 24 points. Colbert also finished with four rebounds and five steals. Kevin Thomas finished with 13 points and five rebounds. Dareon Jones added 12 points and four rebounds.

Missouri Western will enjoy a break from action with their next game coming on Jan. 3 at Washburn.

— MWSU Sports Information —

Central Oklahoma built a second half lead that was too much for the Missouri Western women’s basketball team to overcome on the way to a 79-64 loss to the Bronchos Saturday afternoon in the fieldhouse.

The loss dropped MWSU to 6-3 on the season and 1-2 in MIAA play.

The Bronchos made just one more field goal than the Griffons in their 15-point win. The difference was at the free throw line where Central Oklahoma took 30 foul shots to just 11 for the Griffons. UCO went 26-30 from the line with the Griffons finishing 8-11. UCO also outrebounded the Griffons, 38-28 and held MWSU to 39 percent from the field.

Chelsea Dewey led the Griffons with 20 points followed by Sarafina Handy’s 19. Mariah Jordan pulled down four rebounds, the most of any Griffon. Dewey also claimed five of the Griffons 12 total steals.

Missouri Western now gets a breather, not playing again until Jan. 3 when they travel to Washburn.

— MWSU Sports Information —

Missouri Western junior cornerback Mike Jordan has been named to his second All-America team as he is a member of the Associated Press Little All-America team.

Jordan is a third team choice on the AP team which is made up of the top players from NCAA Division II, NCAA Division III and NAIA team.

He was also named a first team AFCA All-American and was named first team All-MIAA for the second consecutive season.

Jordan is on the Don Hansen All-Super Region Three second-team and the DAKTRONICS All-Super Region three team.

He led the MIAA with 16 passes defensed and was tied for the league lead with four interceptions.

Click here for the full release from the Associated Press.

— MWSU Sports Information —

The Missouri Western men’s basketball team got big free throws and stiff defensive play down the stretch of an 83-78 overtime win over Northeastern State Thursday night inside the MWSU Fieldhouse.

It was the first overtime game for the Griffons since defeating No. 15 Fort Hays State last December. MWSU is now 5-4 on the season and 1-1 in MIAA play.

Missouri Western was 5-6 from the foul line in the overtime period and 18-29 for the night. The Griffons claimed 10 steals on the night, perhaps none more than important than two by Cortrez Colbert in OT to stop Northeastern State scoring chances.

Colbert stepped up in the game, leading all scorers with 25 points, four rebounds, five assists and four steals. Wes Mitter added 12 points on 4-4 shooting from behind the three-point line.

For the second straight game, all Griffons in the game scored with nine players scoring at least four points. The Griffons shot 57 percent from the field, 50 percent from three-point range and 62 percent at the free throw line. They held a narrow, 39-34 rebounding advantage and held the RiverHawks to a 41 percent field goal percentage.

The brief home stand continues Saturday when Missouri Western hosts Central Oklahoma at 3:30.  The game will air on 680 KFEQ and here on StJosephPost.com.

— MWSU Sports Information —

The Missouri Western women’s basketball team picked up their first MIAA win of the season, defeating Northeastern State 68-35 Thursday night in the Fieldhouse. It was the Griffons first game since dropping their conference opener, 81-57 at Fort Hays State on Dec. 6.

The Griffons out-rebounded the RiverHawks 44-28 and held NSU to 10-for-40 shooting from the field for just 25 percent. MWSU forced 20 NSU turnovers, claiming 13 steals.

Sarafina Handy led the Griffons with 13 points, followed by 11 from Alex Saxen and 10 from both Ariana Novak and Mili Koyamainavure.

Missouri Western hosts another MIAA contest this weekend when Central Oklahoma visits on Saturday.  The tip off is at 1:30 PM and it’ll be broadcast on 680 KFEQ and here on StJosephPost.com.

— MWSU Sports Information —

The Missouri Western men’s basketball team rolled to a 97-57 victory against Baptist Bible College on Sunday at the MWSU Fieldhouse.

12 Griffons played in the game and all 12 players scored en route to the team’s first 40-point win since 2011.

Baptist Bible scored the first six points of the game and led 10-9 early on, but Missouri Western used a 15-2 run to take the lead and cruised the rest of the way.

Cortrez Colbert scored all 15 of his points in the first half as MWSU led 47-24 at halftime.  After a Currie Byrd free throw to start the second half, Ryan Devers scored the next 14 points for the Griffons to extend the lead as Western led by as many as 46 points in the second half.

Devers led all scorers with 24 points on 9-13 shooting from the field. Devers was one of four Griffons in double-figures, including Colbert with 15. Wes Mitter scored a career-high 11 and also had a career-high six assists off the bench. Dareon Jones added 11 points and Byrd led the way with 11 rebounds.

MWSU shot 53 percent from the field, 36 percent from three-point range and 57 percent from the free throw line. The Griffons scored 48 points in the paint to the Patriots 16.

The win moves Missouri Western to 4-4 on the season and they’re back in action Thursday when they get back into MIAA play.  The Griffons host Northeastern State at 7:30 and the game will be broadcast on 680 KFEQ AM.

— MWSU Sports Information —