League coaches voted Missouri Western No. 2 in the 2014 Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association Baseball Coaches’ Preseason Poll released Thursday morning. This marks the second consecutive season that the Griffons were ranked second in the preseason poll. Last season the Griffons won their first ever MIAA Title finishing with a 40-12 overall record and 28-5 record in MIAA play. The 40 victories was a school record.

The Central Missouri Mules received 12 of a possible 14 first place votes earning the top spot with 168 points. Central Missouri finished second in the MIAA a season ago earning a trip to the NCAA Central Regional.

Missouri Western who had their best season in school history earns the No. 2 spot with one first place vote and 144 points. The Griffons are ranked 17th in the Collegiate Baseball Newspaper preseason poll. The Griffons are followed by No. 3 Central Oklahoma who received the final first place vote and 139 points. The Bronchos finished last season with 29-19 overall record and 23-16 record in MIAA play.

The Emporia State Hornets and the Missouri Southern Lions are tied for the 4th spot with 128 points. The Lions are coming off a season where they earned a spot in the NCAA Regional by upsetting the Griffons in the championship game of the MIAA Tournament.

The Pittsburg State Gorillas come in 6th with 110 points while the Lindenwood Lions and Northeastern State RiverHawks come in 7th and 8th with 98 and 94 points respectively. Fort Hays State sits comfortably in 9th with 73 points while Nebraska-Kearney sits 10th with 57 points.

Northwest Missouri State (11th), Washburn (12th), Southwest Baptist (13th) and Lincoln (14th) wrap up the final four spots with 49, 37, 34 and 15 points respectively.

Griffon Baseball team opens the 2014 regular season on the road this weekend in Searcy, Arkansas as they take on Harding in a four game series.  Doubleheader action begins on Saturday at 12 PM followed by a 1 PM start on Sunday.  The Griffs set a school record for wins a year ago going 40-12 and qualified for the NCAA Tournament for the second time.  Saturday’s opponent Harding was picked to finish sixth in the Great American Conference this season and was 29-22 a season ago.

The Griffs open the home schedule at the Spring Sports Complex on Friday, February 21 as they host Northeastern State at 2 PM.

1. Central Missouri (12)         168
2. Missouri Western (1)         144
3. Central Oklahoma (1)         139
T4. Emporia State                    128
T4. Missouri Southern            128
6. Pittsburg State                     110
7. Lindenwood                         98
8. Northeastern State             94
9. Fort Hays State                   73
10. Nebraska-Kearney          57
11. Northwest Missouri         49
12. Washburn                         37
13. Southwest Baptist           34
14. Lincoln                              15

— MWSU Sports Information —

The Missouri Western men’s basketball team continued to play well at home cruising to a 99-71 victory over the Lincoln Blue Tigers. The Griffons shot a season best 66.7-percent (38-57) from the field improving to 9-10 overall and 4-7 in MIAA play.

The Griffons shot a sizzling 64.5-percent (20-31) taking a 51-30 lead into halftime against Lincoln. The 51 points is the most points in the first half this season by the Griffons. Missouri Western had eight players score with Ryan Devers, Adarius Fulton and Dzenan Mrkaljevic each dumping in nine.

The Griffons used a 31-14 run opening up a 20 point lead at 36-16 lead after a Wes Mitter layup with 5:35 to play. The Blue Tigers tried to make a comeback cutting the Griffon lead to 14 with 2:50 to play but the Griffons outscored the Blue Tigers 8-1 down the stretch taking their biggest lead of the game into the locker room.

The Griffons dominated the points in the paint outscoring Lincoln 30-8. The Griffons mad 5-of-9 long range shots and 6-of-7 free throws. Fulton made three of the Griffons five long range shots in the frame.

The Blue Tigers shot just 37.9-percent (11-29) from the field with Joshua Buie leading the way with 12 points on 4-of-8 shooting.

The Griffons continued to play well offensively in the second half leading by as many as 31 points at 92-61 with 5:12 to play. The Griffons outscored the Blue Tigers 28-14 in the paint in the frame. The Blue Tigers drop to 2-17 overall and 0-11 in MIAA play.

The Griffons dominated the points in the paint outscoring Lincoln 58-22. Missouri Western had five players score in double figures with Devers leading the way with 24 on 8-of-9 shooting. Cortrez Colbert, Dareon Jones, Charlie Marquardt and Mrkaljevic all finished with 16, 15, 14 and 13 respectively.

The Griffons had 21 assists on the night with Mrkaljevic leading the way with five. Nine different Griffons had an assist in the game.

The Blue Tigers had two players score in doubles figures with Buie leading the way with 35 points on 12-of-19 shooting. Jeremy Jackson pitched in 12.

The Griffons return to action on Saturday, February 1st with an MIAA afternoon game against the Lindenwood Lions. Game time is set for 3:30 pm in the MWSU Fieldhouse and will be broadcast on 680 KFEQ AM.

— MWSU Sports Information —

Missouri Western held Lincoln without a field goal for more than 16 minutes throughout the course of the game as the Griffons won 42-28 Wednesday night at MWSU Fieldhouse.

The 28 points given up by the Griffons were the third fewest in their history, and the fewest points given up in a conference game.

For most of the second half, the suspense of Missouri Western’s outcome was over with. The Blue Tigers didn’t score a basket from the 9:27 mark of the first half until the 13:23 mark of the final frame. As Lincoln guard Jennifer Rosado knocked down a jumper. The span helped the Griffons dominate throughout in their conference matchup.

Neither team could establish much offensively in the first few minutes as each team swapped three turnovers before Lincoln took a 2-0 lead. Quenisha Lockett added a layup for the 2-2 tie with 16:57 left in the opening half, and the tie was soon broken up by Tiara Hall’s layup. The Griffons continued on an 11-0 run with Sharniece Lewis’ back-to-back 3-pointers to make it 11-2.

The Griffons continued to take control in the half, grabbing a 22-9 lead with a Lewis jumper late in the half. Missouri Western led 22-12 at the half. The Blue Tigers didn’t help themselves, having as many turnovers, 12, as they did points in the first half.

Missouri Western didn’t let the game get any closer, jumping out to a 17-point lead after a layup by Lockett early in the second half. Lincoln pulled within 12 as it was 29-17, but that score was followed by four more Griffon points to establish another large lead. Lincoln finished with 24 turnovers, which was more than the Blue Tigers could score until Rosado knocked down a triple with less than a minute to play. Rosado added two more free throws to close the game 42-28 which kept them winless in the conference. The Blue Tigers are 3-15 overall. Missouri Western is now 8-10 overall and 3-8 in the MIAA.

The Griffons were led by JaQuitta Dever and Lewis, who each had 10 points. Dever also collected five steals. Jallisa Lewis added a game-high 11 rebounds. Rosado paced Lincoln with 13 points.

Missouri Western’s 42 points were the least amount of points scored in a victory in its history. Before that, the Griffons defeated Peru State 48-47 on December 3, 1991.

Next up for the Griffons is a Saturday matchup against Lindenwood at 1:30 p.m. and it’ll air on 680 KFEQ AM.

— MWSU Sports Information —

Missouri Western tight end Reggie Jordan has been named an honorable mention All-America by D2Football.com, which was released Wednesday.

Reggie Jordan (TE, 6-3, 240, Sr., Hazelwood, Mo.) was named second team All-MIAA for the first time in his career. This marks his second season in a row that he was named honorable mention All-American by D2Football.com. This past season he had 23 catches for 366 yards and four touchdowns which included a two touchdown performance against Pittsburg State. He had two catches for 81 yards in that game. He also had three rushes for 22 yards on the season. Last sason he was an honorable mention All-MIAA selection as well as an honorable mention D2Football.com All-American.

Reggie Jordan has also been invited to the 2014 NFL Combine to be held February 19-24 at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.

The Griffons finished the season with an 8-3 overall record and 7-3 MIAA record. It was the eighth time in the past nine seasons and 11th time in Head Coach Jerry Partridge’s tenure that the Griffons have won eight or more games.

— MWSU Sports Information —

The Missouri Western men suffered their worst loss of the season falling 105-69 against the #22 Missouri Southern Lions. The Lions scored over 50 points in both halves as the Griffons fall to 8-10 overall and 3-7 in MIAA play.

The only lead for the Griffons in the opening half came at 3-0 after a Hans Thun three pointer opening the scoring. The Lions then went on a 14-2 run claiming a 9 point lead after a dunkn by Jordan Talbert. The Lions extended its lead to 10 before the Griffons used a 12-5 run cutting the Missouri Southern lead to 29-26 after a Wes Mitter layup with 7:48 to play.

The Griffon offense struggled the rest of the half scoring just four points to the Lions 25. The Lions used a 19-0 run claiming a 48-26 lead with 2:31 to play after a three point play from Cameron Cornelius.

The Griffons had seven players score in the half as Dzenan Mrkaljevic led the charge with eight points off the bench. He also had five rebounds. The Griffons made just 31.6-percent (12-38) from the field and 4-of-12 from long range. The Griffons were outrebounded 25-16 by the Lions but did have 10 offensive rebounds to MSSU’s eight.

The Lions shot the lights out in the half making 59.3-percent (16-27) from the field and 85.7-percent (6-7) from long range. The also made 16-of-23 free throws. Greg Renfroe led the charge with 13 points while Jordan Talbert had seven rebounds.

The second half did not get any better for the Griffons as they got outscored 51-38. The Lions improve to 14-3 on the season and 8-2 in MIAA play.

Four Griffons scored in double figures with Ryan Devers leading the charge with 14 points. Mrkaljevic and Kalvin Balque finished with 12 while Charlie Marquardt pitched in 11. The Griffons shot 39.7-percent (25-63) from the field and just 57.1-percent (16-28) from the free throw line. The Griffons got out boarded 42-23 but did have 12 offensive rebounds to the Lions 11.

The Lions shot outstanding in the game making 68-percent (34-50) from the field and 72.7-percent (8-11) from long range. The also made 29-of-40 free throw attempts. Five Lions scored in double figures with Renfroe scoring 28 points on 10-of-12 shooting and making 8-of-9 free throws. Talbert led the charge on the boards with eight rebounds. He also had six assists and five blocked shots.

The Griffons return to action on Wednesday, January 29 when they take on the Lincoln Blue Tigers at 7:30 pm in the MWSU Fieldhouse.

— MWSU Sports Information —

The Missouri Western women shot just 26.3-percent (15-57) from the field in a 65-50 loss on the road against Missouri Southern. The Griffons also struggled from the free throw line making just 59.3-percent (16-27) of their attempts. The Griffons fall to 7-10 overall and 2-8 in MIAA play.

The Griffons led just once at 5-4 in the first half against Missouri Southern. The most MWSU trailed by in the first half was eight at 27-19 with nine seconds to play in the half after a Shonte Clay layup. The Griffons were able to go into the half on a positive note as Stephanie Lichtenauer nailed a three pointer as time expired cutting the Lion lead to 27-22 at the half.

Despite playing without their two leading scorers in Sharniece Lewis and Quenisha Lockett the Griffons were able to hang in with the Lions. The Griffons dominated the boards outrebounding the Lions 20-13 with 10 coming on the offensive end of the floor. Seven Griffons scored in the half with Lichtenauer leading the way with five points on 2-of-2 shooting. Jallisa Lewis led the charge on the boards with six. The Griffons shot just 27.6-percent (8-29) from the field and 3-of-8 from long range.

The Lions were led by Clay with eight points on 3-of-4 shooting. Kristen Hanna and Dominique Mosley each had six points. The Lions made 10-of-20 field goals and 6-of-8 free throws.

The Griffons kept the game close for most of the second half but a late 11-0 run by the Lions put the finishing touches on the Griffons. Alexis Gray hit a layup with 11:30 to play cutting the Missouri Southern lead to 37-33 with 11:30 to play. The next three and a half minutes belonged to the Lions going on a 9-1 run opening up a 12 point lead after a Nicole Hartzog layup with 8:07 to play.

The Griffons kept playing hard, cutting the Lion lead to 47-42 after two Tiara Hall free throws with 5:56 to play. Unfortunately that would be the closest the Griffons would get as the Lions closed on a 18-8 run winning by 15. The Lions improve to 14-3 overall and 8-2 in the MIAA.

The Griffons had 10 players score in the game with Hall and J. Lewis leading the way with nine points. Lewis also had nine rebounds while Hall collected seven.

The Lions shot 61.8-percent (21-34) in the game and made 20-of-28 free throws. Clay finished the game with 10 points while Mosely pitched in 13 on 6-of-7 shooting.

The Griffons return to action on Wednesday, January 29 with an MIAA contest against the Lincoln Blue Tigers. Game time is set for 5:30 pm in the MWSU Fieldhouse.

— MWSU Sports Information —

The Missouri Western women’s tennis team was picked to finish 10th in the 2014 MIAA Preseason poll which was released this morning, Friday, January 24 by the league office.

The Griffons received 19 points in the poll leading 11th place selection Lincoln (19) by nine points. The Southwest Baptist Bearcats finished in 1st place with 100 points and 10 first place votes while 2nd place Northeastern State had 91 points while receiving the final first place vote.

Central Oklahoma, Northwest Missouri State and Nebraska-Kearney sit 3rd though 5th with 82, 70 and 61 points respectively while Washburn (56), Emporia State (46), Lindenwood (37) and Fort Hays State (33) wrap up the poll in 6th through 9th respectively.

The Griffons return eight players from a squad that finished  6-16 overall and 2-9 in MIAA play. They will be under the direction of long time Griffon men’s basketball coach Tom Smith as he replaces Ron Selkirk. The Griffons also welcome first year graduate assistant Raven Searcy to the staff.

Ceara Boldridge had the best season for the Griffons finishing 11-11 in singles competition which included a 4-7 record in MIAA play. Lindsey Beger and Denise Chiao also had nice seasons both winning seven matches. In double competition Alyssa Dougan and Kayla Dysart had a solid year finishing with a 6-7 overall record. The Griffons open up the 2014 season on Saturday, February 8 when they take on Evangel and Stephens College in Springfield, Mo. Start times are still to be determined.

2014 MIAA Preseason Women’s Tennis Coaches Poll
1. Southwest Baptist (10)  100
2. Northeastern State (1)    91
3. Central Oklahoma           82
4. Northwest Missouri         70
5. Nebraska-Kearney          61
6. Washburn                         56
7. Emporia State                  46
8. Lindenwood                     37
9. Fort Hays State                33
10. Missouri Western        19
11. Lincoln                            10

— MWSU Sports Information —

The Missouri Western women’s basketball team won its second consecutive game Tuesday night with a 63-38 victory over Missouri Valley.  The Griffon bench scored 40 of MWSU’ 63 points as 13 different Griffons scored in the game.  They improve to 7-9 on the season and return to MIAA action on Saturday, January 25 at Missouri Southern. Game time is set for 1:00 pm in Joplin, Mo.

The Griffons used 16 bench points and 13 second chance points claiming the 29-12 halftime lead over the Vikings. The Griffons scored the first eight points of the game as Tiffanie Abrams hit two early long range shots. The Griffons extended their lead to 11 at 14-3 after a Cassey Sobaski jumper with 10:46 to play in the first frame.

The Vikings responded cutting the Griffons lead to 14-7 just a couple minutes later after a Rayna Smith jumper. The rest of the half belonged to the Griffons outscoring the Vikings 15-4 to take the 17 point lead into the break.

The Griffons made 11-of-30 field goals and all four of their free throws. Nine different Griffons scored in the frame with Abrams leading the way with six points. The Griffons forced 14 turnovers which led to 13 points.

The Vikings struggled offensively making just 3-of-23 field goals which included 0-of-7 from long range. The Vikings did make 6-of-8 free throws. The Vikings were led by Rayna Smith with six points.

The second half was similar to the first as neither team shot the ball very well. The Griffons outscored the Vikings 34-26 in the frame leading by as many as 26 four different times in the half. The Griffons had 19 points off turnovers in the frame.

On the night the Griffons scored 29 points off 34 Missouri Valley turnovers. They also had 23 second chance points on 23 offensive rebounds and had 26 points in the paint. Cassey Sobaski led the way off the bench with eight points while Jallisa Lewis and JaQuitta Dever both dumped in seven.

The Vikings were led by Paris Johnson with 13 points and five rebounds while Smith finished with six points. Gabi Morales collected six rebounds for Missouri Valley. The Vikings shot just 25.6-percent (11-43) from the field and 2-of-11 from long range. They made 14-of-16 free throws with Johnson going 4-for-4.

— MWSU Sports Information —

The Missouri Western men’s basketball team scored 52 second half points and made 38-of-50 free throws coming away with an 89-84 victory over the Southwest Baptist Bearcats. Charlie Marquardt scored a career high 23 points making 11-of-15 free throws and 6-of-7 field goals helping the Griffons improve to 8-9 overall and 3-6 in MIAA play.

In an entertaining first half the Griffon men went into the half down 39-37. The Bearcats led for most of the frame with their largest lead being 37-29 with 2:51 to play in the half. The Griffons responded nicely tying the score at 37 before a David Gabrovsek layup gave SBU the lead after one frame.

The Griffons outrebounded the Bearcats 29-15 with 12 being on the offensive end. MWSU scored 18 points in the paint to SBU’s 10. The Griffons shot 35.5-percent (11-31) from the floor and just 2-of-10 from long range. They did make 13-of-18 free throws. Charlie Marquardt led the charge with 13 points on 4-of-5 shooting.

The Bearcats made eight long range shots in the opening frame with Derrick Stewart scoring 14 points making 4-of-5 three pointers.

The Griffons came out of the half and battled scoring 15 points in the first seven minutes claiming their first lead at 52-51 since the 15:37 mark of the first half when they led 6-5. The Griffons continued to play hard building their lead to eight at 70-62 after a three point play by Cortrez Colbert with 7:15 to play.

The Bearcats continued to play hard cutting the Griffons lead to two after a Desi Barmore layup with 5:35 to play. The Griffons stayed calm pushing their lead to nine with 3:04 to play and then hung on down the stretch for the victory.

The Griffons shot 47.1-percent (24-51) from the field and outrebounded the Bearcats 44-30 with 13 coming on the offensive end of the floor. The Griffons had 38 points in the paint and 14 assists. Ryan Devers, Cortrez Colbert, Kalvin Balque and Dareon Jones finished with 19, 16, 10 and 10 points respectively while Hans Thun collected a game high nine rebounds.

The Bearcats fall to 8-9 on the season and 1-7 in MIAA play. They were led by Barmore with 27 point on 9-of-16 shooting while Stewart finished with 17 points. Menas Stephens and Preston Guiot had 11 and 10 points respectively. The Bearcats shot 46.9-percent (30-64) from the field.

The Griffons return to action next Saturday, January 25 when they travel to Joplin, Mo. to take on the Missouri Southern Lions. Game time is set for 3:00 pm.

— MWSU Sports Information —

Ten Griffons scored for the Missouri Western women’s basketball team as they defeated Southwest Baptist 73-63 Saturday inside the MWSU Fieldhouse.

The Griffons were led by Quenisha Lockett and Sharniece Lewis with 12 points apiece. Missouri Western improves to 6-9 overall and 2-7 in MIAA play.

The Griffons had a fast start scoring the first 13 points of the game after a jumper in the paint by Lanicia Lawrence with 16:00 minutes left in the half. The Bearcats responded with the long ball cutting the Griffon lead to 22-20 with 8:13 to play in the frame. During that stretch the Bearcats hit  four three’s, two apiece from Brook Duncan and Dilonna Johnson.

The rest of the half was a back and forth battle with the Griffons outscoring the Bearcats by four claiming the 38-32 lead at the break. The Griffons dominated the points in the paint with 24 to the Bearcats eight and had 23 points off 12 SBU turnovers.

The Griffons shot extremely well from the field making 51.5-percent (17-33) of their shots with four coming from beyond the arc. Quenisha Lockett scored 10 first half points on 5-of-9 shooting which included a layup as time expired in the half. The Bearcats were led by Johnson and Duncan with nine points apiece. All of which came off three pointers. SBU shot 44.4-percent (12-27) from the field and 46.2-percent (6-13) from long range.

The Griffons controlled the second half as they led by double digits for most of the frame. A S. Lewis three with 12:42 to play in the game pushed the Griffons lead to 50-39. From there the lead continued to grow for the Griffons leading by as many as 16 at 66-50 after a free throw by Jallisa Lewis with 5:23 to play. The Griffons cruised the rest of the way dropping the Bearcats to 7-8 overall and 2-6 in MIAA play.

Missouri Western shot 47.3-percent (26-55) from the field and 33.3-percent (5-15) from long range. They shot free throws well making 16-of-22. J. Lewis finished with 11 points while Tiara Hall had 9 points and 7 rebounds.

The Bearcats shot just 37.7-percent (23-61) from the field and 33.3-percent (8-24) from long range. They were led by Johnson with 19 points while Duncan and Mackenzie Skupa finished with 14 and 15 points respectively.

The Griffons return to action on Tuesday, January 21 when they take on Missouri Valley at 6:00 pm in the fieldhouse.

— MWSU Sports Information —