No. 11 Southwest Baptist defeats Lions

Box Score


JOPLIN, Mo. -- For the fourth time in the last eight games, Missouri Southern hit a new low in field goal shooting.

The Lions shot a season low 31.3 percent and dipped below .500 on the season with a 75-59 home loss Wednesday (Feb. 1) to No. 11 Southwest Baptist, the top-ranked team in the South Central Region.

But Missouri Southern (10-11, 3-7 MIAA) wasn't out of it even when down 19 points with under 11 minutes to play. Southern went on a 22-9 run, capped by a three-pointer from sophomore Daron Harris with 3:30 to play. That cut the lead to six points before SBU's Deon Davis hit a jumper that hit the front of the iron and crawled over.

The Bearcats (19-2, 8-2 MIAA) ended the game by outscoring the Lions 12-2 over the final 3:15.

SBU led 32-23 at halftime and Missouri Southern stayed close early in the second half, pulling to within six with 3:02 gone after the break. But the Bearcats got 10 points from Jason Jemison in a 17-4 burst over the next 6:20 and led by 19, 54-35, with 10:20 showing.

Missouri Southern shot only 22.2 percent (6-of-27) in the first half, but stayed near the Bearcats thanks to several trips to the foul line. Southern made 9-of-16 first-half free throws, compared to only 1-of-3 foul shots by SBU in the opening 20 minutes.

Southwest Baptist's 7-foot-2 and 290-pound senior Oklahoma State transfer Frans Steyn was slowed by foul trouble early in the second half, as he picked up his third and fourth fouls in the first 1:28 after intermission. Steyn returned late in the game and delivered a thunderous two-handed dunk during the Bearcats' game-closing run before fouling out with 1:08 to go.

Southern held senior Sheldon Pace to only four points and limited Steyn to nine. But with their top two scorers held in check, the Bearcats got a big performance from Jemison (game-high 17 points) and 15 from senior Deon Davis. Jim Grabowski added 10 points and Pace still managed a double-double, recording 14 assists and a game-best 10 rebounds.

Missouri Southern was led by 15 points and six rebounds from senior Quentin Edwards. Harris charted 11 points.

The Lions will return to action Saturday (Feb. 4) at Washburn. Game time is set for 7:30 p.m. in Topeka, Kan.