Lions pull away for victory over Southwest Oklahoma

Box Score


JOPLIN, Mo. -- Missouri Southern held Southwestern Oklahoma State without a field goal for a stretch of 9:36 in the second half while on an 18-4 run en route to a 67-53 home victory Saturday night (Nov. 19).

After the Lions (2-0) led by two at halftime, Southwestern Oklahoma State stayed within one after Kenny Burke's jumper with 13:22 left in the game. But that was the last field goal the Bulldogs would get for a long period, as a Myron Hodge three-pointer sparked Southern onto an 18-4 burst.

Hodge and sophomore Tyler Ryerson scored five points during the run, while senior Jeremie Bond scored six. A putback by senior Dan Jones capped the rally with Southern firmly in front 56-42.

Ryerson and Jones each finished with 13 points. Ryerson added a career-high 11 assists.

Early on, the Lions defensive intensity was evident as SWOSU failed to score of the game's first 4:32. Southern led by as many as nine, 13-4, in the first half after a Ryerson three-pointer. A 10-4 rally over a 4:06 span cut the lead to 18-16 with 8:08 to go before halftime. The Bulldogs twice tied the score in the final 3:30, but never led over the game's entirety.

Bond added 12 points for Missouri Southern, while senior Quentin Edwards finished with 11 points and four steals.

Jon Gunn had 15 points and six rebounds to lead Southwestern (0-2), which shot only 34 percent. Reggie Jackson chipped in 10 points.

Southern returns to action on Tuesday (Nov. 22) with its first road test of the season, a 7 p.m. contest at Missouri-St. Louis. Then the Lions are back at home to host the Freeman Sports Medicine/Chris Tucker Memorial Classic on Friday and Saturday (Nov. 25-26). The Lions will face Missouri Baptist in Friday's nightcap and Bemidji (Minn.) State in the tournament finale on Saturday.