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 —

The Missouri Western men’s basketball team lost another close road battle as they fall at Pittsburg State Saturday, 85-82.

The Griffons are still winless on the road this season falling to 7-8 overall and 2-5 in MIAA play. Four Griffons scored in double figures with Ryan Devers leading the way with 19.

The Gorillas (6-6, 2-3 MIAA) led by just a point, 80-79, when Jake Bullard was fouled on an in-bound play with 37 seconds to play. He made both charity shots for an 82-79 advantage.

Adarius Fulton missed a 3-point attempt with 21 seconds to play and Bullard was fouled five seconds later. He made both free throws again to stretch the margin to five, at 84-79.

Ryan Devers hit a deep 3-pointer with 11 seconds remaining for the Griffons (7-8, 2-5 MIAA) drawing within two points, 84-82. Bullard made one of two free throws with 10 ticks left for the game’s final margin.

Dareon Jones missed a jumper just ahead of the final horn for Missouri Western.

Jake Bullard led a balanced Pitt State offensive attack with 19 points. Sam Pugh came off the bench to fire in 16 points on 4-for-4 shooting from 3-point range. Devon Branch added 15 points and Alex Williams finished with 11.

The Gorillas shot 51.1 percent from the field (23-45) in the game and converted 33 of 40 free throw attempts.

Devers led four Griffons in double figures with 19 points. Charlie Marquardt scored a career high 14, while Fulton and Cortrez Colbert scored 13 and 11 respectively.

The Griffons shot just 36.1 percent from the field in the gmae (22-61), but knocked down eight 3-pointers and converted 30 of 37 free throws in the contest.

The Griffons return to action on Wednesday, January 15 when they take on the Central Missouri Mules in road MIAA action. Tip time is set for 7:30 pm from the UCM Multipurpose Building in Warrensburg, Mo.

— MWSU Sports Information —

The Missouri Western women’s basketball team battled once again but lost at Pittsburg State 74-69 on Saturday afternoon. The Griffons were led by Kyrsten Crawford as she scored a career high 15 points making 5-of-8 shots and 3-of-5 long range shots.

In a back and forth first half a three pointer at the buzzer by Tanner Tripp gave the Griffons women a 35-34 lead heading into the half. the Griffons jumped out to a 10-5 lead in the first five minutes of the half after two three’s one by Kyrsten Crawford and another by Sharniece Lewis. The Griffons kept up the pressure building its early lead to as many as seven at 18-11 and 21-14 midway through the frame.

The Gorillas battled back using a 11-4 run taking its first lead of the game at 25-24 after a layup by Antqunita Reed with 7:31 to play. The rest of the half was close with the Griffons outscoring the Gorillas 11-9 taking the one point lead into the locker room.

The Griffons had eight players score in double figures with Sharniece Lewis leading the way with 10 points. Quenisha Lockett, Tiffanie Abrams and Tiara Hall each had five points. The Griffons made 11-of-27 shots with five three pointers. The Griffons also outrebounded the Gorillas 16-14.

The Gorillas made 9-of-18 shots which included 2-of-3 from long range and 14-of-20 from the free throw line. Lizzy Jeronimus led the Gorillas with 13 points making 4-of-5 field goals and 5-of-6 free throws.

The Griffon women had a slow opening to the second half as the Gorillas outscored the Griffons 20-8 in the first 11 minutes of the half opening up their biggest lead of the game at 54-43 with 9:15 to play after two Alex Muff free throws.

The Griffons used the next six minutes to chip away at the Gorilla lead. They got as close as 67-63 after a S. Lewis jumper with 3:01 to play in the game. The rest of the game would be back and forth but the Gorillas came up with the 74-69 victory. The Gorillas improve to 11-4 overall adn 4-1 in the MIAA while the Griffons fall to 5-8 overall and 1-6 in MIAA play.

The Griffons shot better making 45.1-percent (23-51) from the field and 41.2-percent (7-17) from long range. The also made 16-of-24 free throws and outrebounded the Gorillas 31-27. Ten Griffons scored with S. Lewis finishing with 14 points while Lockett and Hall each had nine. Hall finished with eight boards for the Griffons.

The Gorillas made 50-percent (18-36) of their shots and 4-of-7 from the three point line. They also made 34-of-48 free throws. The Gorillas had three players in double figures with Jeronimus leading the way with 26 points making 16-of-18 free throws.

The Griffons return to road action on Wednesday, January 15 when they take on the 6th ranked Jennies of Central Missouri at 5:30 pm in Warrensburg, Mo.

— MWSU Sports Information —

The Missouri Western men’s basketball team came up short on the road against the Emporia State Hornets falling 87-80. The Griffons had four players score in double figures with Ryan Devers dumping in 21. Hans Thun and Charlie Marquardt had career highs with 18 and 11 points respectively. The Griffons fall to 7-7 overall and 2-4 in MIAA play.

Despite shooting just 30.3-percent (10-33) from the field the Griffons went into the half down just one at 37-36. Ryan Devers hit a half court shot as time expired on his way to 12 first half points. Six different Griffons scored in the frame.

The Hornets opened the game scoring five of the first seven points. The Griffons then went on a 12-4 run opening up a five point advantage at 14-9 with 15:40 to play after two Ryan Devers free throws. The Hornets came right back going on 8-0 run taking a 17-14 lead with 13:08 to play.

The Griffons outscored the the Hornets by two the rest of the half going into the locker room down just one. The Griffons made 4-of-12 long range shots and 12-of-15 free throws. Hans Thun had seven points while Devers had six rebounds, four assists and three steals.

The Hornets made 15-of-30 field goals and 6-of-9 free throws. They out rebounded the Griffons 25-18 with Gavin Brown recording 10. Kaleb Wright scored 16 points while Paul Bunch had 10.

In the second half the Hornets were able to open up an eight point lead a 68-60 with 9:03 to play after a Gavin Brown three point play. The Griffons picked up the defense the rest of the game goin gon a 17-9 run taking a 77-74 lead after an Adarius Fulton free throw with 2:51 to play in the game.

The Hornets used a 5-0 run claiming a 79-77 lead after a Terrence Moore Layup with 2:17 to play. Kalvin Balque then nailed a three with 1:44 to play givin gthe Griffons their last lead of the game at 80-79. The Hornets outscored the Griffons 8-0 down the stretch improving to 10-6 overall and 3-3 in MIAA play.

The Griffons shot 39.1-percent (27-69) from the field and 34.8-percent (8-23) from long range. The Griffons also made 18-25 from the line but got outrebounded 44-30. Adarius Fulton was the other Griffon in double figures with 15. Devers had eight rebounds and eight assists.

The Hornets shot a sizzling 61.1-percent (33-54) from the field with three players score in double figures. Wright led the way with 28 points while Terrence Moore dumped in 20. Gaving Brown had 12 points and 17 rebounds.

The Griffons return to action on Saturday, January 11 with a road contest against the Pittsburg State Gorillas in Pittsburg, Kan. Game time is set for 3:30 pm in John Lance Arena.

— MWSU Sports Information —

The Missouri Western women’s basketball team played hard in a losing effort 69-52 against #3 Emporia State. The Griffons were led by Quenisha Lockett and Jallisa Lewis with 14 and 10 points respectively. The Griffons fall to 5-6 overall and 1-5 in MIAA play.

The Griffons battled the Lady Hornets in the first half but an 11-0 run by Emporia State put the Griffons down by 15, 41-26 at the half. The Hornets opend up a 17-9 lead with 13:12 to play after two Amber Vandiver free throws. The Griffons stayed calm using an 11-0 run tying the score at 17 after a jumper by Lockett with 10:07 to play in the opening frame.

Emporia State pushed its lead back to seven at 28-21 but once again the Griffons closed the lead to four after a three by J. Lewis with 3:06 to play in the half. The rest of the half belonged to the ESU taking the big halftime lead.

Eight different Griffons scored in the half with J. Lewis leading the way with 10 points on 4-of-6 sooting and making 2-of-3 long range shots. Lockett dumped in six points and led the Griffons with three rebounds. The Griffons shot 45.8-percent (11-24) from the field but got outrebounded 17-11.

The Lady Hornets shot 57.1-percent (16-28) from the field and made 8-of-9 free throws. Kionna Kellog scored 11 points on 5-of-9 shooting while Kelly Moten ahd seven points and four rebounds. ESU had 30 points in the paint to the Griffons 12 and had 13 points off nine Griffon turnovers.

The Griffons opened the second half on a 7-2 run cutting the ESU lead to 43-33 after a Lockett free throw with 17:04 to play. The Griffons kept the spread around 10 until ESU went on a 10-0 run opening up their largest lead of the game at 57-37. Missouri Western played hard the rest of the way in the losing effort. The Hornets improve to 15-0 overall and 6-0 in MIAA play.

The Griffons shot 37.3-percent (19-51) from the field but made just 3-of-14 three point shots and 11-of-18 free throws. Lanicia Lawrence finished with seven points while Tiara Hall had six points and four rebounds. Lockett finished with seven rebounds for the Griffons.

The Lady Hornets shot 44.8-percent (26-58) from the field and made just 1-of-13 three point shots. The Lady Hornets made 16-of-22 free throws and outrebounded the Griffons 39-33. ESU had three players score in double figures with Kellog finishing with 15 points and 10 rebounds.

The Griffons return to action on Saturday, January 11 with a road contest agaisnt the Pittsburg State Gorillas in Pittsburg, Kan. Game time is set for 1:30 pm in John Lance Arena.

— MWSU Sports Information —

Ryan Devers scored a career-high 35 points and led Missouri Western to a 89-82 win against Nebraska-Kearney Monday night at MWSU Fieldhouse.

Devers’ career high went alongside six assists and six rebounds, while the Lopers were led by Mike Dentlinger, who had 25 points.

Nebraska-Kearney jumped out to an 9-2 lead in the first four minutes of the game.

The Griffons came back and tied it up at 15 minutes later. From there, neither team led by more than three unitl Missouri Western took control with a 3-pointer from Dareon Jones. The trey made it 28-23 with 7:25 remaining in the opening frame.

The Griffons built a 10-point lead on a layup by Kalvin Balque toward the end of the half. That was followed by Devers’ fast break to go up 42-30 with 1:30 left.
Dentlinger put in a jumper right before the buzzer to mark the score 44-34 at the half.

At halftime, the Griffons were led by Devers, who had 13 points and five assists, both were team highs. The Lopers were led by Dentlinger, who had 13 points and Davion Pearson, who had six assists.

Nebraska-Kearney chipped away at the lead and it eventually settled at 52-49 with 13:39 left in the game.

After the Griffons went up double digits, the Lopers again cut the lead back down. Highlighted by Dentlinger’s three-point play, the Lopers made the game 75-71 with less than three minutes to play. Charlie Marquardt’s nice cut to the basket put the Griffons back up six, and after a turnover, Cortrez Colbert knocked down one of his two free throws to go up 78-71 with 1:40 left.

Pearson nailed a 3 seconds later to go back to a four-point game. Less than a minute later, the Griffons found themselves ahead 82-74, but Pearson again knocked down a trey to cut the game to 82-77.

Devers clinched the victory with five free throws in the final minute as the Griffons won 89-82. The Griffons next play on Wednesday at Emporia, Kan. against Emporia State.

— MWSU Sports Information —

The Missouri Western women used a strong defensive effort picking up its first MIAA victory of the season. The Griffons held the Nebraska-Kearney Lopers to just nine field goals in a 55-46 victory in the fieldhouse. The Griffons were led by Tiara Hall with seven points and career best 13 rebounds. MWSU also snapped a six game losing streak improving to 5-6 overall and 1-4 in MIAA play.

The Griffons dominated the first 15 minutes of the opening frame taking a 23-4 lead after two Alexis Gray free throws with 5:56 to play in the half. From there the Lopers hit a few free throws and a couple of shots cutting the Griffon lead to eight at the half at 25-17.

The Griffons scored the first nine points of the game and continued the solid play opening up the 19 point lead. The Lopers hit 10-of-15 free throws and connected on a layup and a three with under a minute left closing on a 13-2 run. The Lopers made just 3-of-17 field goals and had sixteen turnovers. Alexa Hogberg led the Lopes with seven points making 5-of-7 free throws.

The Griffons made 9-of-28 field goals and had eight points in the paint to the Lopers two. Six Griffons scored in the frame with Jallisa Lewis leading the way with six point. Tiara Hall had nine of the Griffons 20 rebounds.

The Griffons held at least an eight point lead for the whole second half. They used a 13-5 run opening up their biggest lead of the second half at 46-30 after a layup by Quenisha Lockett with 6:40 to play. The Lopers responded going on a 7-0 run cutting the Griffon lead to 46-37 with 4:54 to play.

Down the stetch the Griffons hit their free throws sealing the victory. The Griffons hit 12-of-17 free throws in the second half and went 17-for-27 in the game. Ten different Griffons scored in the game with Lanicia Lawrence and Sharniece Lewis each scoring eight points.

The Lopers fall to 5-7 on the season and 2-4 in MIAA play. They hit just 9-of-43 field goals but did make 25-of-37 free throws. They also had 44 rebounds with Shelby Zimmerman collecting 10.

The Griffons return to action on Wednesday, January 8 when they travel to Emporia, Kan. to play the 3rd ranked Emporia State Hornets. Game time is set for 5:30 pm in White Auditorium.

— MWSU Sports Information —

The Missouri Western men’s basketball team struggled from the free throw line making just 15-of-26 attempts falling for the third straight game by a score of 79-69 against the Washburn Ichabods. The Griffons had three players score in double figures with Ryan Devers finishing with a career best 25 points on 7-of-12 shooting. He also made 11-of-13 free throws. The Griffons fall to 6-6 on the season and 1-3 with the loss.

The first ten minutes of the first half was an offensive struggle as the Griffons and the Ichabods played to an 11-11 with 9:06 to play in the first frame. From there the Ichabods would go on a 5-0 run which was capped by a Chris Davis three giving Washburn a 16-11 lead with 6:55 to play.

The Griffons continued battling cutting the score to 19-16 after a Cortrez Colbert three with 4:16 to play in the half. Unfortuntaly the rest of the half belonged to the Ichabods outscoring the Griffons 10-6 taking a seven point lead into the locker room at 29-22.

The Ichabods outscored the Griffons 18-10 in the paint and 13-6 in bench points. Kyle Wiggins had six points in the half while Jeff Reid had 10 of the Ichabods 23 rebounds.

The Griffons had five players scored in the half with Ryan Devers leading the way with six points and two assists. The Griffons had just 12 rebounds to the Ichabods 23.

The Griffons opened up the second half going on 11-5 run claiming a 35-34 lead after an Adarius Fulton three with 17:13 to play in the game. That marked their first lead since they led 11-9 with 9:27 to play in the first half. The Ichabods followed that up with a 7-0 run taking a 41-35 lead. The Griffons cut the lead to four a few times down the stretch but missed free throws hurt Missouri Western. On the other hand Washburn made 9-of-10 free throws in the final minute improving to 11-1 overall and 4-1 in MIAA play.

The Griffons made 46.2-percent (24-52) from the field and had nine assists with Devers collecting four. The Ichabods made 17-of-21 free throws and shot 49.1-percent (27-55) from the field. Leon Flowers led the way with 26 points on 9-of-12 shooting and making 5-of-6 three point shots.

The Griffons return to action on Monday, January 6 when they take on the Nebraska-Kearney Lopers at 7:30 pm in the MWSU Fieldhouse.

— MWSU Sports Information —

The Missouri Western women’s basketball team played hard but were unable to get their first MIAA victory of the season falling to the Washburn Ichabods 67-49 in the first game of 2014. The Griffons have lost six straight and sit at 4-6 overall and 0-4 in MIAA play.

After a slow start the Griffon women were able to outscore the Ichabods 22-17 in the final 13:05 of the first half going into the locker room down 30-24. The Griffon bench scored 21 points with Tiffanie Abrams leading the way wth eight points making two long range shots.

The Griffons were outscored 18-6 in the paint but scored six points off five offensive rebounds. Lanicia Lawrence had four rebounds in the frame. Missouri Western struggled shooting the ball making just 29.6-percent (8-27) of their field goals and 3-of-12 from long range. The Griffons did make 5-of-6 free throw with Abrams and Friday Chuol going 2-for-2.

The Ichabods made 45.8-percent (11-24) of their field goals with Taylor Ignoto leading the way with 10 points on 3-of-6 shooting. Honor Duvall had nine points making 4-of-6 shots.

In the second half the Griffons cut the Ichabod lead to 41-35 after a Tiara Hall layup with 12:45 to play in the game. The rest of the half was a struggle for the Griffons scoring just 14 points to the Ichabods 26. Washburn improves to 7-4 overall and 3-2 in MIAA play.

The Griffons shot 29.8-percent (14-47) from the field and 22.2-percent (4-18) from long range. The Griffons did shot free throws pretty well making 17-of-26. Abrams finished with 11 points while Jalissa Lewis dumped in seven and had eight rebounds.

The Ichabods shot 43.8-percent (21-48) from the field and made 21-of-30 free throws. Three Ichabods scored in double figures with Ignoto leading the way with 15. duvall and Janelle Travis had 13 and 10 respectively.

The Griffons return to action on Monday, January 6th with a home game against the University of Nebraska-Kearney Lopers. Game time is set for 5:30 pm in the MWSU Fieldhouse.

— MWSU Sports Information —