By TOMMY REZAC
St. Joseph Post
KANSAS CITY, MO - The Missouri Western men's basketball team used a 14-0 surge in the first half to pull away from Rockhurst, and the Griffons continued to gradually pull away in a 92-76 win at Mason-Halpin Fieldhouse in Kansas City Wednesday.
Missouri Western (3-0) was strong from the field all evening, shooting 63.2 percent overall and 8-of-22 from three. The Griffons also made 12-of-17 shots from the free throw line.
Julius Dixon led five Griffons in double figures with a career-best 22 points. He was 3-of-9 from beyond the arc in the victory.
JaRon Thames was right behind with 21 points on 10-of-13 shooting. Taye Fields and Kiani Saxon turned in 13 points. Saxon did so on a 6-of-6 shooting effort. Zion Swader chipped in 12 points and six assists.
Missouri Western had 19 total assists and scored 23 points off of 13 Rockhurst turnovers.
The Griffons led by as many as 22 points and held Rockhurst to 40.7% shooting overall, including just 5-of-20 from three.
Timaris Brown led Rockhurst with 20 points. The Hawks did outrebound Western 30-29, including 14-7 on the offensive glass. Rockhurst also made 23-of-28 free throw attempts.
Missouri Western stays on the road next Tuesday to face William Jewell. Tip off from the Mabee Center in Liberty is set for 7 p.m. The game will be on KFEQ Radio (680, 95.3).
Will Martin postgame
Full audio broadcast
You can follow Tommy on Twitter @TommyKFEQ and St. Joseph Post @StJosephPost.