KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The MIAA released the 2018 All-MIAA Football selections on Tuesday afternoon. Sixteen Griffon football student-athletes were named All-MIAA following the team’s 6-5 season. Missouri Western had eight offensive selections, seven defensive selections, and two on special teams.

Missouri Western had 17 total awards over the 16 players selected, as Brandin Dandridge earned All-MIAA as both a returner and defensive back. All five starters on the offensive line received All-MIAA honors.

ALL-MIAA FIRST TEAM
Hayden Eatinger – OL
Brandin Dandridge – KR/PR

ALL-MIAA SECOND TEAM
Tyler Basch – K
Brandin Dandridge – DB

ALL-MIAA THIRD TEAM
Shawn Rouse – OL
Tanner Hale – OL
Tyler Baska – DL
Jabbar Miles – DB

ALL-MIAA HONORABLE MENTION
Dom Marino – QB
Shamar Griffith – RB
James Bailey Jr. – RB
Jacob Olson – OL
Isaiah Colbert – OL
Kyle Dumler – DL
James Huskey – LB
Anthony Williams – LB
Sam Webb – DB

Hayden Eatinger receives his first All-MIAA First Team selection of his career. Eatinger was named Second Team All-MIAA last season and Honorable Mention All-MIAA as a redshirt-freshman. Eatinger started all 11 games and led a Missouri Western offensive line that averaged 229 yards per game and an MIAA-best 5.6 yards per rush. The Griffon offensive line allowed just six sacks all season, which led the MIAA and was the fifth-best in all of NCAA Division II.

Brandin Dandridge was named First Team All-MIAA as a return specialist and Second Team All-MIAA at defensive back. Dandridge averaged over 13 yards per return with a season-long return of 58 yards in the Griffons’ upset over No. 5 Fort Hays State. Opposing teams began to game plan around Dandridge’s big play threat on punt returns, as his opportunities for returns lessened throughout the year. At defensive back, Dandridge had four interceptions and 11 pass breakups for an MIAA-best 15 passes defended.

Tyler Basch was tabbed Second Team All-MIAA in his last season at Missouri Western. Even with missing three games due to injury, Basch made 10 field goals, with five of those coming from over 30 yards. His season-long came against Fort Hays State at 47 yards.

Shawn Rouse and Tanner Hale were both picked to the All-MIAA Third Team. Both Rouse and Hale started all 11 games on the Griffon offensive line. They helped pave the way for a Griffon offense that amassed over 2500 yards rushing on the season.

Tyler Baska earns All-MIAA Honors in just his second season at Missouri Western. Baska finished the year with 3.5 sacks and 7.5 tackles for loss. He had a season-high nine tackles in the Griffon’s final home game against Lindenwood.

Jabbar Miles rounds out the All-MIAA Third Team at defensive back. Miles was fourth on the team with 67 total tackles and tied for a team-high with four interceptions. Miles was named MIAA Defensive Player of the Week following Missouri Western’s upset over Fort Hays when he had two interceptions and seven total tackles.

Dom Marino earned Honorable Mention as a senior. The dual-threat quarterback finished with over 2000 yards of total offense. Marino led the Griffons in rushing with 681 total yards for an average of over six yards per carry. Marino ended the season with eight passing touchdowns and five rushing touchdowns.

Shamar Griffith and James Bailey Jr. were both named All-MIAA Honorable Mention at running back. Griffith led the team with 6.6 yards per rush and totaled 631 yards on the ground with four touchdowns. Bailey Jr. ran for a team-high nine rushing touchdowns and finished with 652 yards rushing as a freshman.

Receiving All-MIAA honors for the first time in his career is Kyle Dumler. The defensive lineman recorded 3.5 sacks and 30 total tackles. Dumler started all 11 games as a senior.

Linebacker James Huskey earns All-MIAA honors for the second time in his career after missing all of last season with an injury. Huskey was second on the team with 82 tackles and also had three sacks and an interception. Huskey ran back one of the team’s two punt return touchdowns when he snagged a line-drive punt and returned it 27 yards for the score against Fort Hays State.

Joining Huskey is fellow linebacker Anthony Williams. Williams led the Griffons with 89 tackles, including 51 solo tackles. Williams had one forced fumble and two fumble recoveries, including his 50 yard scoop-and-score against Lindenwood in the season finale.

Jacob Olson and Isaiah Colbert also earned Honorable Mention. Joining Eatinger, Rouse, and Hale, all five members of the Missouri Western offensive line received All-MIAA recognition.

Sam Webb was named All-MIAA for the first time in his career. The sophomore started 10 games and had 29 total tackles, with 21 of those being solo tackles. Webb was second on the team with six pass breakups and also had an interception.

— MWSU Athletics —

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – A stellar start to the 2018-19 season pushed Missouri Western senior Lavon Hightower to MIAA Men’s Basketball Athlete of the Week honors.

The senior averaged 20.8 points and 8.3 rebounds per game while helping Missouri Western to a 3-1 start, the program’s best in five years. Hightower scored 26 points in each of the Griffons’ first two games, both against teams receiving votes in the NABC preseason top-25 poll. He posted a double-double in his third game of the season, scoring 15 and adding 10 rebounds in a win over Winona State.

Through four games this season, Hightower shot 46 percent from the field, 42 percent from three-point range and 85 percent at the free throw line. He averaged eight rebounds per game and added three blocked shots and seven assists. The Charlotte, North Carolina native was named to the Small College Basketball Hall of Fame Classic All-Tournament team where he led all scorers in a field that featured three top-15 teams and three others receiving votes.

Dating back to last season, Hightower has scored at least 13 points in 15-straight games, averaging 20.2 points and 6.3 rebounds over that span.

Missouri Western is on back in action Saturday as they travel to Rolla, Missouri for a game against Missouri S&T.  The tip off is at 3:00 p.m. and it’ll air on 680 KFEQ.

— MWSU Athletics —

ST. JOSEPH – Missouri Western improved to 3-1 in its 75-67 win over Upper Iowa (0-2) on Saturday night. The win gives the Griffons the 2-0 weekend at the 27^th Annual Hillyard Tip-Off Classic.

NOTABLES

• After Saturday’s win, the Griffons now have their first 3-1 start since 2013-14.
• The Griffons shot well right from the opening tip and shot 53 percent in the first half.
• Missouri Western’s 12 made three-pointers are a new season-high.
• The Griffons took the lead three minutes into the game after an Alex Martin three-pointer and maintained the lead for the rest of the game.
• Getting to the free-throw line did not come so easy for the Griffons as they finished with just 15 free throw attempts compared to the Peacocks’ 27.
• Upper Iowa was held to just a 36 percent field goal percentage.

LEADERS

• Tyus Millhollin posted a season-high 22 points in the win.
• Millhollin did most of his damage from deep, making six three’s on 55 percent shooting from distance.
• Jonathan Mesmacque pulled down double-digit rebounds for the second night and finished with a team-high 11 boards.
• Lavon Hightower was the team’s second-leading scorer with 16.

UP NEXT

• Missouri Western will play outside of Civic Arena for the first time all season as they travel to Missouri S&T on Nov. 17.
• The Miners are coming off of a 3-23 season in 2017-18.

— MWSU Athletics —

ST. JOSEPH – Lindenwood (4-7) scored 21 unanswered points in the final five minutes and 20 seconds of its final game as football member of the MIAA conference to come back and spoil Griffon Football’s shot at a seven-win season.

The visiting Lions defeated Missouri Western 27-23 in the final game of the regular season. Missouri Western finished the regular season 6-5, the first winning season since going 6-5 in 2015.

NOTABLES

• Missouri Western led 23-6 after a 21-yard Donnell Hawkins touchdown with 8:03 left in the game
• Lindenwood made it 23-13 with a seven-play, 72-yard drive that ended with a 13-yard touchdown pass with 5:20 left
• A failed attempt at an onside kick by Lindenwood gave the Griffons the ball at the Lindenwood 41 with 5:20 left, but Missouri Western took a little over a minute off the clock and gained just one yard before Dom Marino punted to the Lindenwood one-yard line
• The Lions rattled off an 11-play, 99-yard drive to pull within three with 2:14 left in the game
• Lindenwood the had a successful onside kick that gave them the ball at the 50
• The Lions had to convert a 4^th and five at the MWSU-45 to keep what ended up being the game-winning drive alive. They scored three plays later to take their first lead since early in the second quarter.
• Missouri Western still had a chance with the ball, 36 seconds left and one timeout.
• Three complete passes got the ball from the Missouri Western-25 to the Lindenwood-29
• With one second remaining, Dom Marino completed a pass to Joe Horn Jr. who lateraled to Keylan Mack. Mack was tackled at the three with no time on the clock, leaving the Griffons three yards short of a seventh win on the season.
• Missouri Western had 291 yards of total offense while allowing Lindenwood 424 yards.
• The Griffons were +2 on turnovers with two fumble recoveries and an interception. Lindenwood picked off Marino once
• It was the final home game and regular season game for 16 Griffon seniors who were honored before the game

LEADERS

• Donnell Hawkins led a balanced Griffon rushing attack with 41 yards on four carries, averaging 10.2 per rush
• Marino finished 12-of-34 for 144 yards and an interception
• Kyle Berry had a team-high three catches
• Keylan Mack led the Griffs with 39 receiving yards
• Luke Theis averaged 44.2 yards on five punts
• Tyler Basch was 3-for-4 on field goal attempts, scoring all the Griffons’ points until Hawkins touchdown run in the fourth quarter
• James Huskey led the team with 12 total tackles. Anthony Williams had 11

— MWSU Athletics —

HAYS, Kan. – Griffon Women’s Basketball used efficient shooting to move to 2-0 on the season with an 82-70 win over Southwest Minnesota State in Hays, Kansas on Saturday.

Missouri Western shot better than 48 percent from the field and close to 47 percent from three-point range.

NOTABLES

• A two-point Griffon lead after one quarter got stretched out before halftime with Missouri Western outscoring SMSU 25-12 in the second period
• An 11-0 run helped the Griffons end the third quarter with a 72-49 lead
• Holding the comfortable lead, the Griffons were held to 10 fourth quarter points while allowing 21
• The Griffons held SMSU to 33 percent shooting from the field (21-63) and 25 percent from three-point range (8-32)
• Missouri Western won the battle on the glass, out-rebounding the Mustangs 47-31
• The Griffons outscored SMSU 40-26 in the paint

LEADERS

• Katrina Roenfeldt posted her first double-double as a Griffon, leading the team with 16 points and 11 boards
• Melia Richardson scored 14 points on 4-of-9 shooting from the field and 6-of-6 shooting from the free throw line
• Kylee Williams was 3-of-5 from three point range and scored 11 points

UP NEXT
The Griffons travel to Kirksville, Missouri to take on Truman State on Tuesday, Nov. 13.

— MWSU Athletics —

ST. JOSEPH – Missouri Western Men’s Basketball (2-1) earned its second victory of the early season in a 65-57 win over Winona State Friday at the Hillyard Tip-Off Classic at Civic Arena. Down five points with just over six minutes to play, the Griffons played some of their best defense of the season to come away with the win.

NOTABLES

• Missouri Western played its best defense of the night to close out the fourth quarter. The Griffons did not allow a single field goal in the final 6 minutes of the game.
• The Griffons closed the game on a 16-3 run over the last six minutes.
• Lavon Hightower swung momentum away from Winona State after the Warriors stretched their lead to five points with under six minutes remaining. Hightower converted the and-one after Tyrell Carroll set him up for the layup.
• Tyus Millhollin was fouled on a three-point attempt and sank three clutch free throws to give the Griffons the 55-54 lead.
• Jonathan Mesmacque sealed the game with a three off of another cross-court assist from Tyrell Carroll.
• Missouri Western held the Warriors to just 32 percent shooting in the second half.
• The Griffons shot 40 percent from beyond the arc in the win.
• Alex Martin and Lavon Hightower both picked up double-doubles for the Griffons on Friday night. It was the first time a player on Missouri Western recorded a double-double since Nov. 30, 2017.

LEADERS

• Hightower led all scorers with 15 points on 50 percent shooting.
• Mesmacque came off the bench and had the best game of his career. Mesmacque posted career highs in points (11), rebounds (7), and assists (4).
• Freshman guard Tyrell Carroll played 30 minutes off the bench and was the team’s second-leading scorer with 13 points to go along with his five assists.
• Alex Martin set several career marks in Friday’s win. Martin grabbed a career-high 10 rebounds and scored 12 points for his first career double-double.

UP NEXT

• Missouri Western will play Upper Iowa in its final game of the Hillyard Tip-Off Classic on Saturday at 7:30 p.m.
• Upper Iowa fell to Northwest Missouri 76-59 on Friday night.

— MWSU Athletics —

HAYS, Kan. – The Missouri Western women’s basketball team got its 2018-19 season started with a win over Upper Iowa Friday in Hays, Kansas, 67-58.

Missouri Western used a patented, dominant third quarter to break open a game that was even through the first two quarters.

NOTABLES

• Missouri Western opened up the second half on an 18-0 run
• The Griffons outscored the Peacocks 24-10 in the third quarter
• In the third quarter, MWSU shot better than 47 percent from the field, forced 12 turnovers (9 steals) and scored 12 points off turnovers
• On the night, Missouri Western forced 28 Peacock turnovers and had 19 steals
• The Griffons led by 20 with 5:08 left in regulation, but Upper Iowa finished the game on an 11-0 run
• Upper Iowa shot 36 free throws to 11 for the Griffons

LEADERS

• Katrina Roenfeldt led all scorers with 17 points to go with a team-high six steals
• Cera Ledbetter had a team-high eight rebounds to go with 16 points on 8-of-15 shooting from the field
• Melia Richardson led the team with four assists
• Anastacia Johnson had five steals and scored eight points

UP NEXT
The Griffons stay in Hays, Kansas to take on Southwest Minnesota State at 5 p.m. on Saturday

— MWSU Athletics —

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The MIAA announced the All-MIAA Volleyball selections on Thursday and six Missouri Western players received All-MIAA honors.

ALL-MIAA SECOND TEAM
Stephanie Doak – Outside Hitter
Rachel Losch – Middle Hittter
Lauren Murphy – Setter

ALL-MIAA HONORABLE MENTION
Shellby Taylor – Right Side
Ali Tauchen – Middle Hitter
Audrey Keim – Libero

Stephanie Doak was named Second Team All-MIAA after a stellar junior season. Doak has now received All-MIAA in all three of her seasons at Missouri Western. Doak finished second in the MIAA in both kills (421) and kills per set (3.66). Her single season marks also rank as some of the best in program history. Doak’s 3.66 kills per set are the fourth most all-time at Missouri Western, just behind the third place mark of 3.73 kills per set that she set last season. One of Doak’s most memorable performances of the season came when she eclipsed 1,000 career kills in a 17-kill performance in the Griffons’ sweep of William Jewell.

Rachel Losch receives Second Team All-MIAA honors for the second-straight season. Losch had a career year in her final season at Missouri Western. Not only did Losch have the highest hitting percentage on the team, but she also led the entire MIAA with her .348 hitting percentage. Her .348 hitting percentage also puts her name in the all-time ranks, finishing with the fifth-best hitting percentage in program history and the best the program has seen in 16 years. She was also the team leader in blocks with 115 on the season.

Lauren Murphy also earned All-MIAA honors in back-to-back seasons after being named First Team All-MIAA as a sophomore. Murphy finished the season with one of the highest assists per set average in the conference at 10.75. She was one of just five players in the MIAA to average double-digit assists. Murphy had three games this season with at least 50 assists, including a career-high 70 assists in the Griffons’ five set match against St. Edwards. Murphy dished out her 2,000th career assist early in the season and has moved up to fourth all-time in career assists with 2,842.

Shellby Taylor wrapped up her four-year career at Missouri Western as an All-MIAA Honorable Mention. She was third on the team with 2.37 kills per set. Her 272 kills on the season is the second-best single season total of her career. Taylor also joined the 1,000 kills club on Oct. 19 against William Jewell. Taylor finished her career at Missouri Western as one of the most consistent players in the program. A four year contributor, Taylor averaged over 2.2 kills per set in all four of her seasons at Missouri Western.

Ali Tauchen received All-MIAA Honorable Mention in just her second season with the program. Tauchen was near the top of the team leaders in multiple statistical categories. She finished second on the team in both kills (286) and kills per set (2.49). She finished with 92 total blocks and was also one of the top hitters on the team with a .230 hitting percentage. Tauchen set a career high in kills with 18 against Central Missouri early in the season. She also set a new career high in digs against Central Oklahoma with 27.

Audrey Keim was named All-MIAA Honorable Mention after being one of the most productive liberos in the entire MIAA. Keim took over the libero position as a senior and was the anchor of the Griffon defense all season. She finished fourth in the MIAA with 5.26 digs per set. Keim ended her career with the Griffons with some of the best numbers in program history. Her 5.26 digs per set and 605 digs this season were the second-most all-time at Missouri Western. Keim contributed to the Griffons in all four of her seasons and ends her career with the third-most career digs at Missouri Western with 1,445.

— MWSU Athletics —

KEARNEY, Neb. – The Missouri Western volleyball season ended Tuesday night in the first round of the MIAA Championships with a three-set loss to No. 1 seed Nebraska-Kearney.

It was the No. 8-seeded Griffons third loss of the season to the Lopers who entered the weekend ranked No. 3 in the nation. Missouri Western and Nebraska-Kearney met five times in less than a year with three postseason match-ups. The Lopers won both MIAA Championships matches against the Griffons with Missouri Western ending the Lopers’ season last year in the NCAA Division II Central Region Championship quarterfinals.

NOTABLES

• Missouri Western limited Nebraska-Kearney to a .201 team hitting percentage, holding the Lopers under .150 in the second and third sets, but hit just .038 itself
• The Griffons were held to single-digit kills as a team in both the first and second sets before totaling 12 as a unit in the third set
• The Griffons came close to extending the match in a back-and-forth third set that featured four lead changes and six ties. Missouri Western never led by more than two and the Lopers never led the set by more than four
• Nebraska-Kearney ended the match with 57 points on 49 kills and ace and seven blocks. The Griffons had 36.5 points on 28 kills, two aces and 6.5 blocks
• The 15-17 overall record for the Griffons was the first sub-.500 season for the Griffons since going 14-17 in 2011, two years before Marian Carbin took over as head coach

LEADERS

• Rachel Losch tied for team-highs in kills (8) and blocks (3). In her final match as a Griffon, Losch hit .333
• Stephanie Doak also had eight kills
• Shellby Taylor and Ali Tauchen had three total blocks each. Tauchen added six kills and 14 digs
• Lauren Murphy had a team-high 17 assists
• Audrey Keim led the team with 15 digs in her final match as a Griffon

— MWSU Athletics —

ST. JOSEPH – The Missouri Western men’s basketball team got its first win of the 2018-19 season and it was a big one. The Griffons knocked off Fairmont State 80-73 on Sunday in the Small College Basketball Hall of Fame Presented by Hillyard at Civic Arena. Fairmont State, the 2017 NCAA Division II runner-up, was receiving votes in the NABC preseason top-25 poll. The Falcons lost a heartbreaker themselves on Saturday, 78-76 to 2018 national champion Ferris State. Sunday, it was the Griffons turn to dole out a similar gut-punch to what the team took on Saturday from Tarleton State. Missouri Western erased a nine-point deficit with an 18-7 run over a five minute period in the second half. The Griffons never trailed again and scored its final six points of the game at the free throw line. NOTABLES Missouri Western shot 51 percent from the field and held Fairmont State to 36 percent shooting; the Falcons missed 40 shots, the Griffons took 45 The Griffons needed just one three-pointer made by Lavon Hightower in the first half to defeat the Falcons. Missouri Western ended the game 1-for-8 from behind the arc while Fairmont State was 10-for-30 The Griffons won the battle on the glass, out-rebounding their opponent 44-29 Missouri Western forced 23 Fairmont State turnovers and committed 12 The game featured nine lead changes and was tied eight times. Fairmont State had the lead for more than 23 minutes; the Griffons led for just over 13 minutes. In the midst of the 18-7 second half run, Fairmont State had to dip deep into its bench due to foul trouble, subbing in a player who was not listed in the official score book prior to the game. An administrative technical foul turned into a three-point play with a Lavon Hightower free throw and layup that cut the Fairmont State led from seven to four LEADERS Hightower matched his total from Saturday, scoring 26 points to likely end the SCB Hall of Fame Classic as the tournament’s top scorer. The senior was 7-of-12 from the field, 11-of-12 from the line and led the Griffons with eight rebounds Bryan Hudson scored a career-high 21 points on 7-of-8 shooting with seven rebounds Tyrell Carroll scored 10 points for the Griffons UP NEXT The Griffons stay at Civic Arena next weekend, hosting the 27thAnnual Hillyard Tip-Off Classic. Will Missouri Western will play Winona State on Nov. 9 at Civic Arena and Upper Iowa on Nov. 10. — MWSU Athletics —