Missouri Western used 50 percent shooting along with 13 made 3-pointers to pull away in the second half for an 88-67 win over Wayne State College at the Hillyard Tip Off Men's Basketball Classic in St. Joseph, Missouri. The host Griffons are now 3-1 on the year while WSC slips to 1-1.
The first half was mostly a back-and-forth battle with nine lead changes and four ties, but the host Griffons used a late scoring surge to take an eight-point advantage at intermission.
WSC trailed early in the contest 7-2, but the 'Cats rallied with a 16-6 scoring run and took their biggest lead of the game at 18-13 on a
Matt Noll jumper with 10:20 to play in the half.
Missouri Western battled back and took a 27-23 lead at the 6:26 mark, but WSC reeled off the next seven points and held a 30-27 lead following an
Andrew Stokes basket with 4:38 left before halftime.
Tied at 30-30, Missouri Western closed the final 3:47 of the half on a 12-4 run and took a 42-34 lead at the break.
The host Griffons jumped out quickly in the second half and built a 20-point lead at 61-41 just over five minutes in the half.
WSC could never get back into the game as the Griffons maintained a nearly 20-point advantage the rest of the way and closed the contest with an 88-67 win.
Matt Noll led Wayne State in scoring with 19 points and seven rebounds.
Kai Smith also hit double figures with 11 points.
WSC was 25 of 63 from the field for 39.7 percent, going 6 of 18 behind the arc and 11 of 20 at the stripe.
Noah King and Gavin Harshberger each had 17 points for Missouri Western with Ty Henry scoring 13.
Missouri Western shot 50.7 percent making 35 of 69 shots, including 13 of 25 from the 3-point line.
The Griffons won the rebounding battle over WSC 41-34.
Eldon Turner and Stokes each had three assists.
Wayne State will play their home opener Monday evening in Rice Auditorium hosting Manhattan Christian in a 6 p.m. contest.
