Lions move to 6-2 with win over Hannibal-LaGrange

Box Score


PITTSBURG, Kan. -- Dominating the glass and limiting Hannibal-LaGrange to a poor first-half shooting effort, Missouri raced to a 21-point halftime lead and maintained that margin in the second half of a 73-52 defeat of the Trojans Saturday (Dec. 3) in the Pittsburg State Pepsi/The Morning Sun Classic.

Southern (6-2) outrebounded HLG 25-11 in the opening 20 minutes and limited the Trojans to 22.2 percent shooting. The Lions shot 50 percent before halftime and rode a 14-2 burst to a double-digit lead. MSSU led 38-17 at the break.

Senior guard Quentin Edwards scored 13 of his game-high 16 points in the first half and also charted seven of his eight rebounds during the opening period.

Thanks to an 8-0 run that featured six points from Branko Velijovic, the Trojans (3-9) got within 13 points just past the midpoint of the second half. However, Southern used a 7-0 spurt, highlighted by a three-pointer from junior Matt Habermehl, to quickly put it back at a 20-point game. The Lions ultimately led by as many as 27 points. Senior Dan Jones had 11 points and five rebounds in the second half, en route to 15 points and eight boards in the game.

Junior Ed Miles added 11 points for the Lions, who got eight rebounds each from Edwards, Jones and senior Jeremy McCadney. As a team, Southern outrebounded the Trojans 49-24, including 20-6 on the offensive glass.

HLG outshot the Lions 51.9 to 40.6 percent in the second half.

Missouri Southern will return to action on Tuesday (Dec. 6) with a game at South Central Region rival Northeastern (Okla.) State. Then conference play tips off on Dec. 10 at the Leggett & Platt Athetic Center as the Lions welcome Emporia State.