By TOMMY REZAC
St. Joseph Post
WICHITA - Newman shot 61.5 percent from the floor in the first half, and made seven of their first 10 three-point attempts to take a 12-point second half lead, but Missouri Western went on a 19-8 run to reclaim the lead and fend off the Jets, 73-67, at Potter Family Court Monday.
It marks back-to-back wins for the Missouri Western men since Dec. 11, and the Griffons (12-13, 8-9 MIAA) have now won back-to-back on the road for the first time all year, as they're now 3-1 in their last four games.
"I think if we can continue to get some wins, this is preparing for us for a potential postseason," Missouri Western head coach Will Martin said, as the Griffons jumped out to 7th in the MIAA standings with the victory.
"We're just thinking one game at a time. We obviously dug ourselves in a hole."
The Griffons trailed 39-32 at the half and Newman led 44-32 with 19:04 remaining, but Western held Newman to just 1-of-9 shooting from three in the second half, and the Jets shot just 11-of-28 from the field in the second half as well.
"I thought our guys did a good job of responding and making sure we didn't give those (threes) up in the second half," Martin said. "I think we saw a lot of fortitude."
Monday's game featured five ties and six lead changes, but Western claimed a 64-63 lead off of a pair of Caleb Bennett free throws with 5:02 to go and never lost the lead after that.
In fact, the Jets were held to just four total points in the game's final five minutes.
"I think it's important to get wins like this where you have to grind it out," Martin said. "I think it's good for our team to get the experience of that."
Will Eames finished with his fourth double-double of the season Monday, leading Missouri Western with 20 points and 11 rebounds. Caleb Bennett had 15 points on 3-of-5 shooting from three.
Justin Bubak scored a career-high 12 points, including a 5-for-5 effort at the free throw line. Q Mays also had 12 points, five rebounds and four assists. The Griffons had 14 assists to seven turnovers and won the rebounding battle 37-29.
Israel Barnes and Ian Lee both led Newman with 21 points each.
After playing four games in six days and four straight on the road, the Griffons get a couple of needed days off before hosting Washburn on Thursday. The women will lead off at 5:30, and the men will follow at 7:30.
Both games will be on KFEQ Radio (680, 95.3).
You can follow Tommy on Twitter @TommyKFEQ and St. Joseph Post @StJosephPost.