The Missouri Western men’s basketball team had four players in double figures cruising to an 86-68 victory over the 8th ranked NAIA squad Midland University Warriors. Adarius Fulton dumped in 17 first half points while Dzenan Mrkaljevic scored 13 of his 17 points in the second half. The Griffons improve to 2-1 on the season with the victory.

The Griffons used a 23-8 run in the final 10:29 of the first half to claim a 13 point lead at 39-26 at the half over the Warriors. The Griffons were helped by Fulton’s 17 points with 15 coming off long range shots. The five three’s for Fulton ties his career high. He finished going 6-for-10 from the field and 5-of-8 from long range.

The Griffons had 12 points in the paint and eight points off six offensive rebounds. The made 14-of-31 shots and connected on 5-of-8 free throw attempts. Cortrez Colbert had four assists while Fulton had four steals in the frame.

The Warriors made just 10-of-24 field goals and 3-of-6 from long range and the charity stripe. They were led by Hadley Sejkora with six points while Galen Gullie and Jalen Hueser had three rebounds apiece.

The Griffons came out in the second as hot as they ended the first half building its lead to 23 at 53-30 after a Colbert three with 16:20 to play in the second half. The Warriors made a push midway through the second half cutting the Griffon lead to 13 at 71-58, but the Griffons went  on another big run ending any hopes of a Midland comeback.

The Griffons finished the night making 43.5-percent (10-23) long range shots and 50.0-percent (29-58) frmo the field. The Griffons did struggle a little bit from the free throw line making just 18-of-32. Colbert and Devers finished with 14 and 12 points respectively. The Griffons had 16 assists with Colbert and Fulton dishing out six and five respectively. Fulton finished with six of the Griffons 14 steals which was one shy of his career best.

The Warriors fall to 3-1 on the season as they had three players in double digits with Montrel Billups scoring 15 on 6-of-9 shooting. DJ Vaughn and Marcus Franklin had 13 and 12 points respectively.

The Griffons return to action on Friday, November 15 as they host the William Jewell Cardinals in the 22nd annual Hillyard Tipoff Classic. Game time is set for 8:00 pm in the MWSU Fieldhouse.

— MWSU Sports Information —

The Missouri Western women doubled up the Avila Eagles 104-50 in non-conference action on Tuesday evening in the fieldhouse. The 104 points is the most since November 30, 2002 when they scored a all-time high 115 against Southwestern (Kan.). The Griffons improve to 2-0 on the season as Ariana Novak and Tiffanie Abrams both had 14 points.

Another solid defensive performance in the first half helped the Griffons build a 32 point lead at the half over the Eagles. The Griffons made 21 shots with seven coming behind the three point line as they made 65.6-percent of their shots. The Griffons also dominated the rebounds with 18 to the Eagles seven and had seven on the offensive end of the floor which led to 11 second chance points.

Missouri Western trailed just once in the frame at 2-1 and then went on a 16-3 run claiming the 17-4 lead after a layup by Sharniece Lewis. The Griffons continued to dominate play building its lead to 20 at 31-11 wit 7:57 to play after a good free throw shot by Tiffanie Abrams. The rest of the half the Griffons outscored the Eagles 28-16 taking the 59-27 halftime lead.

Ten different players scored for the Griffons with Novak leading the way with 12 points on 3-of-5 shooting from long range. Lewis was the only other Griffon in double figures with 11. MWSU outscored the Eagles 22-8 in the paint and 38-9 off the bench.

Avila made just six field goals but made 13-of-16 free throws. Sajel Spani had six points while Rebekah Capeder and Kelsey McConnell each pitched in five.

In the second half the Griffons continued their dominace outscoring the Eagles 45-23 and shooting 51.5-percent (17-33) from the field.

The Griffons had 13 players score with five players scoring in double figures. Jaquitta Dever and Lewis had 11 points while Tiara Hall pitched in 10. Hall also led the Griffons with nine of the Giriffons 45 rebounds.

The Griffons had 46 points in the paint and 37 points off 22 Avila turnovers. They also had 60 bench points.

The Eagles fall to 1-5 with the loss as they shot just 34.2-percent (13-38) from the field but made 20-of-28 free throws. Jessia Smith led the way with 13 points.

Head Coach Rob Edmisson is now 8-1 in the month of November and will try and make it 9-1 on Friday, November 15 with a non-conference game against the University of Illinois-Springfield. Game time is set for 6:00 pm.

— MWSU Sports Information —

The Missouri Western football team sits in 8th place in the Super Region Three rankings which was released Monday afternoon.

Four other MIAA schools are ranked in the poll with Northwest Missouri State sitting in 1st, Pittsburg State 5th, Emporia State 6th and Washburn 9th.

The top two teams in the region get a bye in the first week of the playoffs while four will host five and three will host six on Saturday, November 23.

The Griffons region consists of teams from the Northern Sun Incollegiate Conference, Great American Conference and the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association.

The Griffons are now 8-2 overall and 7-2 in the MIAA and return home for the regular season finale on Saturday against Northwest Missouri State with kickoff set for 2:37 PM.  Prior to the game, we’ll honor the 16 player senior class that with a win will tie the record for the winningest four year class in school history with 38.

SUPER REGION THREE
1     Northwest Missouri State     10-0     10-0
2     Minnesota State-Mankato     10-0     10-0
3     Henderson State     10-0     10-0
4     Minnesota-Duluth     9-1     9-1
5     Pittsburg State     8-1     9-1
6     Emporia State     8-1     8-1
7     St. Cloud State     9-1     9-1
8     Missouri Western State     8-2     8-2
9     Washburn     8-2     8-2
10     Harding     7-2     7-2

— MWSU Sports Information —

Missouri Western sophomore running back Raphael Spencer was named the MIAA Offensive Player of the Week for the first time in his career after his 193 yard two touchdown performance against Washburn last weekend.

For the third time this season Spencer ran for over 150 yards as he went for 193 on 27 carries with two touchdowns. Spencer has now rushed for over 100 yards six times this season. He leads the team with 11 rushing touchdowns and is now averaging 124 yards per game and 6.8 yards per carry.

He has rushed for 1240 yards on the season and has scored a touchdown in seven of the Griffons 10 games. His 47-yard touchdown late in the fourth quarter helped the Griffons seal the victory over the 15th ranked Washburn Ichabods. The 5-9 sophomore running back is a native of Kansas City, Mo. and competed at O’Hara High School.

— MWSU Sports Information —

The Missouri Western men’s basketball team played hard but came up short against the Northern State Wolves 87-78 in the final game of the Sanford Pentagon Showcase. The Griffons had three players finish in double figures with Dareon Jones leading the charge with 18 on 6-of-11 shooting from the field. The Griffons fall to 1-1 with the loss.

The Griffons played well in the first seven minutes of the game scoring twenty points and taking a 20-12 lead after two Ryan Devers free throws with 12:51 to play in the frame. The Griffons used a 14-5 run to build its lead. The Griffons continued to play well building its lead to 10 at 25-15 with 10:39 to play in the half after Kalvin Balque hit two free throws.

Unfortunately the Griffon offense went cold the rest of the half scoring just 11 points to Northern State’s 29. The Griffons went into the half down 44-36. In the half the Griffons shot 38.5-percent (10-26) from the field but shot well from from behind the arc making 5-of-10 and from the free throw line sinking 11-of-13. Adarius Fulton and Cortrez Colbert each had nine points in the half.

The Wolves shot 55.2-percent (16-29) from the field and 66.7-percent (6-9) from long range. They were led by Skye Warwick with 15 points. He got all of his points on three point shots going 5-for-5 in the frame.

In the second half the Wolves extended their lead to 13 a couple different times, but the Griffons kept playing hard making Northern work hard for the win. The Griffons cut the Wolves lead to four going on an 10-2 run which was capped by a Colbert layup with 9:40 to play.

The Wolves extended its lead to eight once again after two Seth Bachand free throws but MWSU used a 8-0 run which was capped by a three point play by Dever cutting the NSU lead to 72-70 with 5:04 to play.

The rest of the way would be all Nortern State as they hit their free throws and some big shots down the stretch. They outscored the Griffons 15-8 the final five minutes picking up the nine point win and evening its record to 1-1 on the season.

The Griffons shot just 40.4-percent (23-57) in the game and 30-percent (6-20) from long range. The made just 1-of-10 three point shots in the second half. They did shoot free throws well making 26-of-31 with Devers and Colbert combining to make 17-19. Devers finished with 17 points and four assists while Colbert scored 16 points with five rebounds and three assists.

The Wolves shot the ball extremely well making 28-of-52 which included 7-of-15 from long range. They also made 24-of-36 free throw attempts. The Wolves were ld by Bachand with 16 points and 10 rebounds while Warick finished with 22 points and Michael Schreiber dumped in 13.

The Griffons return to action on Wednesday, November 13 with a non-conference contest against NAIA opponent Midland University out of Freemont, Neb. Game time is set for 7:00 pm from the MWSU Fieldhouse.

— MWSU Sports Information —

The 22nd ranked Missouri Western football team snapped a two game losing streak defeating the 15th ranked Washburn Ichabods 34-31 in Yager Stadium at Moore Bowl. The Griffons survied a frantic comeback attempt by the Ichabods as they scored 14 points in the final two minutes. Michael Jordan’s recovery on an onside kick attempt with 28 second to go seal the Griffons victory helping them improve to 8-2 overal land 7-2 in MIAA play.

The Griffons opened up the scoring in the first quarter when Travis Partridge connected on a two yard pass to Derek Libby capping an eight play 80 yard drive. The Ichabods responded on the next possession going 68 yards on seven plays which was capped by a Joel Piper 18 yard pass to DaJuan Beard tieing the score at seven with 14:52 to play in the second quarter.

Missouri Western took control the rest of the half scoring the final ten points. Raphael Spencer scored his first touchdown of the game with 10:55 to play capping a nine play 75 yard drive giving the Griffons a 14-7 lead. MWSU scored against when John Schmiemeier connected on a 43 yard field goal with 2:12 left in the half giving the Griffons the 17-7 halftime lead.

In the second half the Ichabods cut the Griffon led to 17-10 when Justin Linn connected on a 28 yard field goal with 9:33 to play in the third. The Griffons responded once again when Partrdige rushed in from one yard out giving the Griffons the 24-10 lead with 4:48 to play in the third.

The score stayed that way until late in the fourth when Schmiemeier connected on his second field goal of the game this time from 36 yards out giving MWSU the 27-10 lead with 4:19 to play. The rest of the game would be a little crazy as the Ichabods would scored 21 points with Piper connecting to Tore’ Hurst from five yards out, Beard from nine yards and Mark Fancher from 27 yards out. Fortunate for the Griffons they recovered all three on-side kick attempts and got a 47 yard rushing touchdown from Spencer giving them the victory.

The Griffons finished with 452 total yards with 319 coming on the ground. Spencer rushed for 193 on 27 carries while Partridge rushed for 77 on 16 carries. Dominic Thomas finished with 37 yards. In the air Partridge connected on 12-of-20 passes for 133 yards with Stephon Weaver catching four passes for 55 yards. On defense Stephen Juergens led the way with eight tackles while Yomi Alli and Sam Brown each finished with six. Marc Harrison had the Griffons lone interception.

The Ichabods finished with 416 yards with 343 coming through the air. Beard had 13 catches for 182 yards while Piper connected on 26-of-39 passes for 343 yards and four touchdowns. Shay Wooten led the defense with 12 tackles.

The Griffons close out the regular season next weekend on Saturday, November 16 on senior day against #2 Northwest Missouri State University. As of now the game is scheduled to kick at 1:30 pm in Spratt Stadium.

— MWSU Sports Information —

Missouri Western men’s basketball coach Brett Weiberg’s first game was a wild one.

The Griffons picked up the win in Weiberg’s debut, knocking off Augustana College 65-64 in the opening game of the Sanford Pentagon Showcase.

The men won after Cortrez Colbert knocked down two game-winning free throws with three seconds remaining in the game. Augustana trailed the whole second half, but with less than 10 seconds to go, Vikings guard Ethan Guske knocked down a 3-pointer with nine seconds left to take a one-point lead.

Afterward, point guard Ryan Devers, who lead the team with 15 points and six assists, missed a layup with four seconds to go, but Colbert grabbed the offensive rebound and was immediately fouled.

Colbert made both of his attempts to go ahead 65-64, and Augustana missed a 3 at the buzzer.

The Griffons were behind for the majority of the first frame. Adarius Fulton made a 3 to take a 29-28 lead with 2 minutes, eight seconds left in the half. Missouri Western extended its lead to 34-30 at halftime.

Cedric Clinkscales’ layup made it 39-33 to mark the biggest lead of the night for the Griffons. After that, both teams went back-and-fourth, but Missouri Western never relinquished the lead until nine seconds to play.

Hans Thun led the team with eight rebounds. Clinkscales added five boards, four offensively. Colbert placed second on the team with 14 points, behind Devers, who had a game-high 37 minutes. Augustana was led by Daniel Jansen, who had 17 points. As a team, the Griffons had nine steals. The Griffons were outrebounded 44-35, but the Vikings had 17 turnovers compared to Missouri Western’s eight.

The Griffons return to the court tomorrow at 2 p.m. They play Northern State to finish out the showcase.

— MWSU Sports Information —

The Missouri Western women’s basketball team opened up the 2013-14 season with a convincing victory 59-38 over the Chadron State College Eagles. The Griffons held the Eagles to just nine points and 12-percent (3-25) shooting in the first half. The nine points is the lowest since November 28, 2003 when MWSU held Lincoln to 11 in the first half. Tiara Hall had an outstanding first game collecting a double double with 13 points and 10 rebounds.

The Griffons opened the game scoring the first 10 points of the game. The Eagles cut the Griffon lead to 12-6 after a long range shot by Kayli Rageth with 8:47 to play in the half. From there the Griffons took control ending on a 16-3 run claiming the 28-9 lead at the half.

The Griffons made 10-32 field goals in the first frame with Hall going 3-for-7 from the field and 5-of-7 from the free throw line. She had 11 points and 10 rebounds at the half. The Griffons dominated the boards with 32 rebounds to Chadron’s 20. The Griffons had 18 poitns in the paint and 14 second chance points on 13 offensive rebounds.

The Eagles were led by Kattie Ranta with five points while making just 3-of-25 field goals, 1-of-9 three point shots and 2-of-10 free throws.

In the second half the Griffons continued to score at will pushing its lead to as many as 22 early in the half at the 15:38 mark off a layup by Kyrsten Crawford and at the 14:26 mark off a layup by Alexis Gray. MWSU took its largest lead of the game with 6:41 to play when Quenisha Lockett scored a layup. The Griffons scored 22 points in the paint and 14 bench points in the second half.

MWSU finished the game shooting 40.4-percent (23-57) from the field which included 52-percent (13-25) in the second half. They ad 48 rebounds and 17 offensive rebounds which led to 18 second chance points. The Griffons dominated the points in the paint scoring 40 to Chadron State’s 12. Thirteen different Griffons scored in the game with Lockett and Ariana Novak pitching in eight.

The Eagles made just 12-of-50 field goals and 11-of-24 firee throws in the game. Kayli Rageth collected a double double with 16 points and 10 rebounds. She made 7-of-11 free throws as they fall to 0-1 on the season.

The Griffons take their 1-0 record into next week when they take on non-conference opponent Avila University on Tuesday, November 12 at 6:00 pm in the MWSU Fieldhouse.

— MWSU Sports Information —

The Missouri Western volleyball team defeated Lindenwood Saturday night at MWSU Fieldhouse 3-1 and clinched an MIAA tournament berth with an 8-7 conference record. The win puts the Griffons at 15-14 overall.

The Griffons lost 25-16 in the first set, but won three straight with set wins of 25-20, 25-18 and 25-17.

On senior night, the Griffons honored four seniors, including Brooke Cousino, Erin Backhuus, Meredith McCormick and Stephanie Hattey. Backhuus had a match-high 14 kills, which is also her career high.

The Griffons started out slowly, losing the opening set 25-16. Amanda Boender led the set with four kills, but it wasn’t enough to overcome Lindenwood’s advantage.

In the second set, the Griffons played better, taking control early and separating themselves later on in the game. After a close 13-11 lead, the Griffons went on a 7-2 run to extend their lead to 20-13. Lindenwood came back with three straight points, but the Griffons kept the lead and won 25-20. After two sets, Boender led the team with five kills.

The third set saw the Griffons take an early lead which led to them controlling the game. After a 9-9 tie, the Griffons took a 14-10 lead that eventually made its way to a 17-16 set.

From there, another run marked the end of the third set and the Griffons won it 25-18. The win put the Griffons ahead 2-1 heading into the fourth set.

The fourth set was the final set as Missouri Western won 25-17. Dominated by Backhuus, she had five kills in the fourth game to give her a career-high. Erica Rottinghaus added five kills in the fourth set as well.

Sarah Faubel led the Griffons with 20 digs. Boender finished with 11 kills to place third on the team behind Backhuus and Rottinghaus. The Lions were led by Sara Makowski and Kayla Guyot, who each had nine kills.

The Griffons are currently the fifth seed in the tournament, and play their final match of the season Thursday night at MWSU Fieldhouse. Missouri Western takes on Southwest Baptist with a start time set for 7 p.m.

— MWSU Sports Information —

The Missouri Western volleyball team gave the 5th ranked Central Missouri Jennies all they could handle Friday night but the Griffons lost 3-2 (25-21, 21-25, 21-25, 25-17, 15-13). It was the first time since September 16, 2005 that Western pushed the Jennies to five sets. The Griffons won that match 3-2 against the 10th ranked Jennies which was coach Marian Carbin’s senior season.

Things started out good for Missouri Western in set one leading for almost half the set. Erica Rottinghaus picked up three points off serve giving MWSU the 4-2 lead. The Griffons extended its lead to 8-4 but could not extend its lead by any more. The Jennies went on a 11-6 run claiming UCM’s first lead of the match at 15-14 after a Taylor Goodness kill. The Jennies finished the match on a 10-7 run claiming a set one 25-21 victory. The Griffons hit just .043 in the first set with just nine kills. Central Missouri had 16 kills hitting .213 in the set.

In set two Western jumped out to a 4-1 lead scoring four points off Kelly Scannell’s serve. The Jennies faught back taking a 12-9 lead after a Goodness kill. Missouri Western stayed calm going on a 9-2 run tdaking a 18-14 lead after a Rottinghaus service ace. MWSU continued to playe well getting the victory 25-21 and evening the set at one. At the break the Griffons were Kelsey Olion with six kills while Scannell had 13 set assists.

Out of the break Missouri Western kept up the intensity ending the set on a 11-7 run taking the set 25-21. With the score tied at 21the Griffons got two kills by Olion and two attack error’s by UCM to pick up the victory. In set four the Griffons dug themselves into a 17-3 hole but kept fighting pulling withing four at 18-14 after scoring seven points off Erin Backhuus’s serve and two off Veronika Goranova’s. The Jennies took control the rest of they way evening up the match at two after a 25-17 victory.

In the fifth and deciding the two teams went back and forth. Western used a 3-0 run midway through the final set claiming an 11-8 lead after a UCM attack error. From there the Jennies took control ending on a 7-4 run taking the match 3-2 and final set 15-13. The Jennies improve to 27-1 overall and 13-1 in MIAA play.

The Griffons had 52 kills and 77 digs on the season to go along with 12 blocks. Olion had 15 kills while Rottinghaus finished with 16 kills and 12 digs. Sarah Faubel had 19 digs while Scannell finished with 39 set assists. The Griffons fall to 14-14 overall and 7-7 in MIAA play.

The Jennies finished with 64 kills with Carly Sojka leading the way with 20 kills. Goodness had 17 kills while Julia Bates had 43 set assists and 11 digs.

Missouri Western return to action on Saturday, November 9 with an MIAA contest against Lindenwood University. Match time is set for 7:00 pm in the MWSU Fieldhouse.

— MWSU Sports Information —