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Southern upends Central Missouri State JOPLIN, Mo. -- Missouri Southern led by as many as 12 in the second half and survived a late run by Central Missouri State in a 62-54 victory Wednesday night (Feb. 8) at the Leggett & Platt Athletic Center. The Lions (11-12, 4-8 MIAA) had made only 1-of-5 free throws for the game until going 5-for-7 at the foul line in the final minute to seal the victory and end a three-game slide. Southern led much of the way against the Mules (17-5, 7-4 MIAA), who missed their first six shots and never fully recovered. Central took only one brief lead, 13-12, with 10:27 left in the first half. After the Mules took that first-half lead, the Lions went on an 11-0 run that was sparked by a three-pointer from junior F Myron Hodge and fueled by a 7-3 edge in rebounding during the span. CMSU outscored the Lions 16-10 over the final 6:04 of the half, but senior G Quentin Edwards' short jumper with three seconds left before the break made it a 33-29 MSSU lead at halftime. Central kept it close early in the second half but a three-pointer from sophomore G Tyler Ryerson 2:20 into the final period marked the first of seven straight Lion points. From there, it stayed at least a two-possession game until the final minute. After Central got within four points with 5:23 left, Ryerson scored five straight points and Hodge added his third three-pointer of the night to push it to a 12-point bulge. The Mules then went on a 9-0 run that started with five straight points from senior G Michael Hicks, who endured a 4-for-19 shooting night but made 11-of-11 at the free throw line. CMSU closed to within three points, 57-54, with 1:18 to play on a layup from senior G Corey Brown, but MSSU senior C Jeremie Bond made two free throws with 54 seconds to push the lead back to five points. Brown's bucket at 1:18 was the final hoop for the Mules, who missed their final three shots of the contest. Hodge finished with 15 points to lead four Lions in double figures. Edwards had 14 points to go with five assists, three steals and a game-high tying eight rebounds. Ryerson finished with 10 points and seven assists and senior C Dan Jones added 11 points and eight boards for the Lions, who outrebounded CMSU, 43-35. Despite the poor shooting night, Hicks, the MIAA's leading scorer, had 22 points as the only Mule in double digits. Central shot only 31.6 percent (18-of-57) from the field. Hicks hit the only three CMSU three-pointers of the night as the Mules made only 15 percent (3-of-20) from beyond the arc. |
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