The Griffons men scored just 28 points in the second half falling 66-63 against the Lincoln Blue Tigers on Saturday afternoon. TJ Johnson led the Griffons with 23 points as Western falls to 6-7 overall and 1-6 in MIAA play.

The first half started slow for the Griffons getting down 7-0 and 15-8 in the first eight minutes of action. Western got going the three minutes of play tying the score at 15 after a layup by TJ Johnson with 9:19 to play. Western kept up the pressure closing the half on a 20-9 run claiming the 35-24 lead at the break.

The Griffons dominated the points in the paint outscoring Lincoln 26-to-12. They also scored 15 points on 10 Lincoln turnovers. Johnson led all scorers with 15 points on 6-of-12 shooting. Western made 15-of-36 shots for 41.7-percent.
The Blue Tigers shot just 38.5-percent (10-26) from the floor with Terrell Williams and Jimmy Payton each scoring seven points. Five other Blue Tigers scored two points.

Things looked good for the Griffons early in the second half as they took a ten point lead at 46-36 with 14:44 to play in the game. The rest of the half would be a struggle offensively as they scored just 17 points.

The Blue Tigers took their first lead at 51-50 of the second half after a Terrell Williams layup with 9:42 to play. Western was able to take a four point lead at 58-54 with 5:56 to play after a good free throw from Johnson.

The rest of the way the Blue Tigers outscored the Griffons 12-5 with James Edmond hitting a three point basket with four seconds to play giving Lincoln their second road victory of the season. The Blue Tigers improve to 2-10 overall and 2-5 in MIAA play.

The Griffons finished shooting just 39.1-percent (25-64) from the field but did outscore the Blue Tigers in the paint 38-to-30.

The Blue Tigers shot 46.4-percent (26-56) from the field with Cedric Ridle and Terrell Williams scoring 16 and 14 points respectively. Ridle also snared eight rebounds.

The Griffons return home on Wednesday, January 11 to take on the Truman State Bulldogs in MIAA action. Game time is set for 7:30 pm from the MWSU Fieldhouse. This will mark the third game of a three game home stand for the Griffons. If you can make the game listen to all the action on 680 AM KFEQ.

— MWSU Sports Information —

The Missouri Western women closed the game on an 18-10 run claiming their second straight MIAA victory by a score of 74-66 over the Lincoln Blue Tigers. Western is 2-0 to open the 2012 season and have won 24 straight against Lincoln. Western improves to 4-8 overall and 2-5 overall.

Western dominated the points in the paint if the first frame outscoring Lincoln 26-14 in the lane helping the Griffons to a 36-30 half time lead. The game was tied eight times in the first frame with Western trialing by no more than five points at 17-12 with 10:56 to play.

Western used an 8-0 run claiming their first lead of the game with 9:25 to play after an Alex Saxen long range shot. The game was tied three more times before the end of the half but a lay-up by Koch at the buzzer gave the Griffons their largest lead of the half at six. Western finished shooting a sizzling 55.2-percent (16-29) form the field with Jessica Koch dumping in 10 points. She has scored in double figures in 22 straight games.

The Blue Tigers shot just 31.4-percent (11-35) from the field with Vivian Essuon leading the charge with 11 points and 16 rebounds. Essuon made 5-of-7 field goal attempts. Lincoln had 14 second chance points to the Griffons zero, outrebounding the Griffons 26-17 in the first period.

In a half that saw eight lead changes the Griffons were able to hold off the Blue Tiger comeback. Two Freddie Sims long range shots in the first two minutes of the second half helped the Blue Tigers tie the score at 36 with 18:09 to play. Western retook the lead by as many as five twice in the next eight minutes by scores of 52-47 and 54-49.

The Blue Tigers went on an 8-2 run taking a one point lead with 6:47 to play after a Jackeya Mitchell free throw, but Koch nailed a three pointer with 6:37 to play sparking the Griffons run to victory. Koch finished with 28 points on 11-of-20 shooting. She collected eight rebounds and dished out seven assists in the game.

Lincoln outrebounded the Griffons 48-to-33 with Essuon finishing with 23 boards and 20 points making 8-of-10 shots. Sims finished with 20 points on 8-of-16 shooting making four long range shots. The Blue Tigers fall to 9-3 overall and 4-3 in MIAA play.

Western outscored the Blue Tigers 44-to-30 in the paint and 21-to-15 off the bench. They also scored 23 points off 26 Lincoln turnovers.

The Griffons return home on Wednesday, January 11 to take on the Truman State Bulldogs in MIAA action. Game time is set for 5:30 pm from the MWSU Fieldhouse. This will mark the third game of a three game home stand for the Griffons. If you can make the game listen to all the action on 680 AM KFEQ.

— MWSU Sports Information —

Missouri Western senior place kicker Greg Zuerlein and junior defensive end David Bass have added another All-American honor as the Associated Press has named Zuerlein and Bass to the “Little” AP All-America teams. Zuerlein earned first team honors while Bass was selected to the second team. The team consists of players from NCAA Division II, III and the NAIA.

Zuerlein, a first team AFCA All-America and Dakrtonics All-America selection from Lincoln, Neb., led the nation in field goals per game (2.30) and broke a NCAA and MIAA record with 21 consecutive field goals made. He set an MWSU record, with 23 field goals in a regular season and broke a school record, with a 58-yard field goal against Northwest Missouri State twice. He was also first team All-MIAA and Daktronics Super Region Four selections.

He led the conference with an average of 10.7 points per game which is sixth in the nation. He leads the nation with a .952 field goal percentage for any kicker with at least 12 attempts.

Zuerlein became Western’s first MIAA Special Teams Player of the Year and is just the third Western kicker named first team All-MIAA. He was named the D2Football.com Special Teams Player of the Week for his efforts in the Griffons 31-28 victory over Northwest Missouri State on November 5. With his 21 consecutive field goals nine of them were from 50 or more yards.

A three-time MIAA Special Teams Player of the Week honoree – the most by any player in that category – Zuerlein is the first Griffon kicker to be selected to the first team.  The last Griffon to earn AP “Little” All-America first team honors was offensive lineman Roger Allen back in 2008.

David Bass was a first team Daktronics All-American selection for the first time in his career. This also marks the first time in his career being named to the AP “Little” All-American second team. The junior defensive end broke a school record with 20 tackles for loss. His 14.5 sacks led the conference and left him one-half sack short of the single season school record. He is 1.5 sacks short of the career record with 28.5. His two, four sack performances each tied a school record for most in a game.

Bass earned MIAA Defensive Player of the Week honors twice and was the D2Football.com Player of the Week once. He was fourth in the nation in sacks per game at 1.21 and 18th in the nation in tackles for a loss with 1.67 per game. He also received first team-All-MIAA for the first time in his career.

— MWSU Sports Information —

Bob Chipman and Tom Smith have more than 1,300 career coaching wins between them.  Chipman added one more Saturday night as Washburn defeated Western 79-55 Saturday in Lee Arena.

The Ichabods’ Will McNeill and Alex North scored 20 points each, while Western turned it over 27 times in the loss.

The Ichabods used a 21-2 run, coupled with 17 Griffon first-half turnovers, to build a  20-point lead and take a 40-24 lead to the break.

“We found ourselves in a similar situation last week (at Fort Hays),”  explained Coach Tom Smith.  “We were really bullied.  That’s what it came down to… we were bullied.”

The Griffons started the 2nd half with a 16-7 run to make it a 47-40 game, but Washburn then answered by forcing two turnovers and turning them to five straight points, including a 3-point play from McNeil, to push the lead back to double digits.

Alex Tuluka-Mfumupembe led Western with 12 points, going a perfect 4-4 from the 3-point line.

TJ Johnson, who returned to the line-up after missing the previous three games with a sprained ankle, had 10 points on 3-6 shooting.

Western’s Dylan France left the game midway through the 2nd half with a heavy cut above his left eye.  He did not return.

Western falls to 6-5 overall and 1-4 in MIAA play.  Washburn improves to 7-3 and 3-1 in the conference.

— MWSU Sports Information —

The Missouri Western women–still  searching for a shooting touch—may have found a new remedy.  But despite a career night from freshman Alex Saxen, the Griffons  couldn’t find a way to cool off Washburn.

The Lady Blues used 51.5 % (34-66) shooting to down the Griffons 87-63  in Lee Arena Saturday.   The Griffons and Lady Blues traded leads early, but Washburn used a 20-3 run midway through the first half to take control and never look back in the runaway victory.

Saxen was a bright spot for the Griffons scoring a career-high 21 points (5-9 fg, 8-8 FT)  and playing a career high 24 minutes in the loss.

Senior Jessica Koch added 18 points (6-16 FG) and 10 rebounds, while playing all 40 minutes.   It’s her 19th straight game scoring double figures, and she moves to 6th all-time on the Missouri Western career scoring list.

The Griffons went to halftime down 41-25, and did get to cut the lead to 13 out of the locker room, but the Lady Blues drained three pointers on four straight possessions to push their lead to 20.

Washburn would push its lead to as many as 32, when an Ebonie Williams jumper at the 6:30 mark made it 76-44.

Still, Western played hard from buzzer to buzzer.  And got contributions from younger, less experience players like Saxen and  Kaitlyn Mercer, who played a career-high 10 minutes.

Western falls to 2-7 overall and 0-5 in MIAA play.  Washburn Improves to 10-3 and 3-1 in the MIAA.

The Griffons have the next week off and will return to action on December 31st at Nebraska-Omaha.

— MWSU Sports Information —