MWSU Regains Momentum Heading into Tourney

By David Boyce

Missouri Western's men's basketball coach Tom Smith understands lightning rarely strikes twice, but memory of an electric moment can boost a team during a tough time.

A year ago the Griffons headed into the MIAA Men's Basketball Championship Tournament as the No. 8 seed. Not much was expected of them.

But players like James Bush, Marcus Rhodes, Quentin Noblin and Dominique Thuston rose up and knocked off No. 1 seed Southwest Baptist. The Griffons used that momentum to get to the championship game.

Missouri Western lost 86-84 in overtime to Central Missouri in the championship game. The season ended, but the Griffons made an impression.

"Everybody has a little bit of an image of us with all the JUCO kids we have that we are individualistic," Smith said. "I think a couple of years we were. I think starting in the tournament last year we started playing together.

"We realized if we play together we have a chance to play with the better teams. If we don't then we are not."

So how does last year's experience relate to now?

Seniors Bush, Rhodes and Noblin and junior Thuston and the rest of the Griffons knew how to react when adversity struck.

Missouri Western was having a wonderful season. Wins were piling up. They were ranked in the top eight in the South Central Region.

On Feb. 10, the Griffons faced Nebraska-Omaha, which was one spot ahead of them in the regional rankings. Missouri Western lost 90-74 at home to UNO.

And that loss carried over to an 83-57 thumping at arch-rival Northwest Missouri.

"It was real frustrating," Bush said. "That was our only conference home loss. We were neck and neck with them trying to get a NCAA Tournament bid. And then to lose by a large margin it really hurt us.

"Mentally, we stayed tough. We had to play stronger and fight harder."

Bush added that the Griffons simply worked harder in practice. They didn't give up.

With three games left in the regular season, they realized they had enough time to salvage the season.

"I don't want to say we were selfish, but each guy was trying to do more than they were capable of," Smith said. "I think when got back to practice we decided we needed everybody to pull the cart in the same direction."

The turnaround started with a victory over Truman. The confidence was restored. Missouri Western concluded the regular season with wins over Central Missouri and Southwest Baptist.

"I feel like two weeks ago when we left Northwest, after getting pounded, everybody thought we were dead in the water and finished," Smith said. "I'm really proud of the fact they came back and worked really, really hard to get ready for Truman and that carried over to Central Missouri and Baptist."

The triumph over Central Missouri was significant because it was only the Mules' second loss of the season. It let the Griffons know that they are capable of beating just about any team in NCAA Division II.

The Griffons are now back to where they were one year ago with just a different seeding.

Missouri Western enters the MIAA Tournament at 2:15 p.m. Friday as the No. 4 seed and the slight favorite over Southwest Baptist, which is the No. 5 seed.

Of course, players from both teams will be reminded about last year's outcome.

"We think about it a lot," Bush said. "We were the eighth seed and had to play against the great Southwest Baptist team. We knew it was the seniors' last chance to make a run at anything. We are going to try to make that same run this year for the seniors to get as far as we can."

Obviously, Southwest Baptist will have the same motivation. It will make for an exciting game for fans at Municipal Auditorium.

Smith is a fan of the tournament being played in Kansas City.

"I think it is great for the kids," Smith said "The venue is great. It doesn't matter if there are 2,000 or 4,000 people; it feels like it is a big-time atmosphere. It is a wonderful experience for everybody."

Bush, a graduate of Sumner Academy in Kansas City, is definitely going to enjoy the experience one more time.

"It means a lot," Bush said, "to come back home and play at home and have great support from fans and family. I'm going to go out there and give it my all. It could be my last game, but I'm hoping it is not. I'm going to fight until the end."

To reach David Boyce, contributing writer for the MIAA, e-mail dboyce@themiaa.com.