Lions upset No. 4 Southwest Baptist, 68-64

Box Score

Against the No. 4-ranked team in NCAA Division II, the Lions trailed for only seven seconds and earned a key road victory, 68-64, Tuesday (Jan. 24) at Southwest Baptist.

Entering the game, Missouri Southern had lost five of six games, including three straight.

But on Tuesday, the Lions didn't dig a deep hole and led by as many as nine in the first half. Southern shot nearly 52 percent in the opening stanza, and had only five turnovers while forcing 11 Southwest Baptist miscues.

MSSU led 40-32 at halftime and had an eight-point cushion, 60-52, with under five minutes to play. The Bearcats, ranked No. 2 in the South Central Region, would tie it with 1:24 to play after a 10-2 run. Down by two with eight seconds showing, SBU's Colt Blair came up empty on a well-guarded three-point shot.

Two free throws from junior Ed Miles secured the victory for the Lions, who shot a season-best 88.9 percent (16-of-18) at the foul line.

Southwest Baptist, ranked No. 11 in the nation in three-pointers made, endured its worst three-point shooting night of the season. The Bearcats made only 3-of-24 tries from long distance.

The 64 points scored marked the second-lowest output of the season for the MIAA's highest scoring bunch.

Sophomore Tyler Ryerson led all five starters in double figures for the Lions (10-9, 3-5 MIAA). Ryerson finished with 14 points and Miles added 13. Seniors Quentin Edwards and Dan Jones had 12 and 11 points, respectively, and junior Myron Hodge had 10 points and shared game-high honors with eight rebounds.

Southwest Baptist (17-2, 6-2 MIAA) was led by 14 points from Blair. Seniors Sheldon Pace and Frans Steyn each had 12. Pace added nine assists and four steals and Steyn, a 7-foot-2 and 290 pound transfer from Oklahoma State, blocked five MSSU shots.