Freeman Sports Medicine/Chris Tucker
Memorial Classic
Game 8 vs. Central Baptist (Ark.), Game 9
vs. St. Gregory’s (Okla.)
Game 8 • 7 pm • Dec. 5,
2003 • Joplin, Mo. • Leggett & Platt Athletic
Center (3,240)
Game 9 • 7 pm • Dec. 6,
2003 • Joplin, Mo. • Leggett & Platt Athletic
Center (3,240)
On the Air: Missouri
Southern Lions action can be heard on Oldies 103.5 FM. Kevin
Greim will handle the play-by-play, along with former Lion Jeff
Starkweather, color commentary. The pregame show tips off 20
minutes before the game. The Lions broadcasts are also
available on the internet, courtesy of Joplin.com. Just go to
the Missouri Southern Athletics web site
(www.mssu.edu/athletics) and click on the link for live
broadcasts.
The Coaches: Head
coach Robert Corn begins his 15th season at the helm of the Lions, where
he has posted a 229-172 record, a winning percentage of .571. A
1978 graduate of Southern and the all-time winningest coach in
Lions basketball history, he has led Southern to four
consecutive 20-win seasons and six overall. Corn was honored as
1999-2000 MIAA Coach of the Year, NABC South Central Regional
Coach of the Year, and Division II
Bulletin National Coach of the
Year following a 30-3 season in which the Lions advanced to the
NCAA-II Elite Eight semifinals.
Kevin Johnson is
in his second year as head coach at his alma mater, St.
Gregory’s. He led the Cavaliers to a 10-22 record in
2002-03.
Jason McGinty,
in his first year, is the acting head coach at Central Baptist.
The Series: Missouri Southern has never met Central Baptist
or St. Gregory’s. Southern and Pitt State will not face
each other in the Classic.
Poor first half slows Lions in Tahlequah
Missouri Southern slipped to 5-2 on the
season with a 78-69 loss on Tuesday (Dec. 2) at Northeastern
State (Okla.).
The Lions couldn’t overcome a poor
first half against the defending Division II champion Redmen.
Southern trailed 40-18 at halftime after shooting just 25
percent and committing 11 turnovers. Meanwhile, Northeastern
shot a blistering 63.6 percent in the first half.
In the second half, the Lions started by
outscoring the Redmen 36-16 over the first 9:27 to get the lead
down to two, 56-54. NSU quickly pushed it back to nine points
and kept Southern at arm’s length. MSSU, shooting 55.6
percent and committing just three second-half turnovers,
managed to get the lead down to three twice in the final six
minutes.
Two NSU guards, Darnell Hinson and Derek
Cline, combined for 54 points on 16-of-25 shooting, including
9-of-14 from three-point range. Hinson, who was 11-of-15 at the
foul line, finished with 29 points four assists and three
steals. Cline added 25 points on 7-of-10 shooting from beyond
the arc.
Junior Orestus “O.C.” Cavness
scored 17 points to pace the Lions. Senior Ameer Watts and
junior Caleb Engelken added 11 and 12 points, respectively.
Scouting Central Baptist
The Mustangs bring a 6-8 overall record
into the Freeman Sports Medicine/Chris Tucker Memorial Classic.
CBC has faced some top competition in it’s early-season
schedule, including Division II Henderson State and Oklahoma
Baptist, now the No. 2-ranked team in NAIA Division I.
Orien Hatcher, a 6-4 junior, leads the
Mustangs with his scoring average of 17 points per game. A 6-5
sophomore, Lamar Eslinger is the team’s top rebounder
with nine boards per game, and ranks second on the team with an
average of 16 points. Antonio Hister, a 6-4 sophomore, averages
13 points and six rebounds.
At Ouachita Baptist (Ark.) on Nov. 18,
Hatcher scored 26 points, and sophomores Robert Davis and
Marcus White added 11 each in a 86-69 loss to Henderson State.
Davis, CBC’s point guard, averages 12
points and 2.5 rebounds. Shawn Stone, a 6-7 center, completes
the Mustangs’ lineup with an average of 10 points and
five caroms a game.
Oklahoma Baptist downed the Mustangs 92-68
on Saturday in Conway.
Central Baptist is an independent member of
the National Christian College Athletics Association (NCCAA)..
Scouting St. Gregory’s
The Cavaliers, an NAIA team from the Sooner
Athletic Conference, bring a 4-2 record into the Freeman Sports
Medicine/Chris Tucker Memorial Classic.
St. Gregory’s has avenged two of its
losses this season in back-to-back games entering play this
weekend. On Nov. 24, SGU downed Texas Wesleyan at home 80-65
behind four players in double figures. Diogo Mello, a 6-9
junior center from Brazil, scored 19 points, while guard Eddie
Rowe added 15 points, seven rebounds, five assists and two
steals. Texas Wesleyan had knocked off the Cavaliers 91-70 in
Fort Worth earlier this year.
On Nov. 20, St. Gregory’s downed
visiting Bacone 63-57. Junior guard Brad Evans had 17 points,
while Mello finished with 11. Evans dropped 26 points on Texas
Wesleyan in the first meeting between the two this year. He
also had 23 points in a Nov. 14 win over Dallas Christian.
Tarin Baker, a 6-5 junior, led the
Cavaliers with 19 points in an 85-59 win over Rhema Bible on
Nov. 15. Rowe, a 6-1 guard, had 15 points and 14 rebounds in
that contest.
Baker and teammate Noah Zuhdi were both
named to the all-tournament team at the Rhema Bible Classic.
Last Year’s Classic
Missouri Southern and Pittsburg State won
both of their games in the 2002 Freeman Sports Medicine/Chris
Tucker Memorial Classic. The Lions were 96-56 winners over
Philander Smith (Ark.) and 75-64 victors against Southwestern
Oklahoma. Pittsburg State collected an 81-66 win over SWOSU and
defeated Philander Smith 94-65.
Missouri Southern’s Caleb Engelken
and Ameer Watts each finished in the tournament’s top
five in scoring, averaging 17 and 16.5 points, respectively.
Watts also averaged 6.5 assists and 3.5 steals, while Engelken
connected on 72.7 percent of his three-pointers (8-of-11).
Together, Watts and Engelken made 61.9 percent of their threes
(13-of-21).
Pitt State’s Cedric Brooks and Jamey
Richardson finished Nos. 1-2 in scoring at 20.5 and 18 points
per game, respectively. Richardson also led the tournament in
rebounding, with an average of 9.5 boards per game.
Ocasio Causes Havoc: Hiram Ocasio, the Lions’ 6-1 junior guard,
has scored in double figures in 10 of his last 12 games, dating
back to last year, and is averaging 14.3 points over that span.
This year, he has at least two steals all seven games and leads
the team in both steals (26, 3.7 spg) and blocks (10, 1.4 bpg),
in addition to ranking second on the team with a 14.3 ppg
average. He fired in a career-high 23 points in the loss to
Bemidji State and matched it in the win over Paul Quinn
(Texas). Also against Paul Quinn, Ocasio recorded nine steals,
one off of former teammate Eddin Santiago’s MIAA and MSSU
single-game records.
Nice Touch: The
Lions have shot 50 percent or better from the field in four of
their last five games, the lone exception being the 43.3
percent effort at Northeastern State on Tuesday. In fact, the
Lions have connected on more than 50 percent of their shots in
eight of the last 10 halves since the loss to Bemidji State.
Southern made a season-best 54.4 percent of its shots vs. Paul
Quinn, hit on 52.2 percent vs. Colorado-Colorado Springs, 50
percent vs. Quincy and 50.9 percent vs. St. Mary’s.
Long Distance Woes: While the Lions have enjoyed solid shooting from
the field over the bulk of their last five games, they
haven’t been as fortunate from long range. Southern is
shooting just 29.6 percent from three-point range, marred by a
23.2 percentage over its first five. However, there is some
evidence to show the Lions three-point shooting is coming
around. MSSU has made 42.5 percent of its threes (20-of-47)
over the last two games. Junior marksman Caleb Engelken has
made nine of his last 18 three-point attempts.
O.C. Above the Rim: Orestus “O.C.” Cavness has eight of
Missouri Southern’s 12 dunks on the season.
Lions at Home: Missouri
Southern is beginning its fifth year in the Leggett & Platt
Athletic Center. Amazingly, Southern has lost only seven times
at home since moving into Leggett & Platt. The Lions
are 56-7 (.889) in the new facility and have a 344-146 (.702)
mark at home all-time. Southern is currently riding a nine-game
home winning streak.
Up Next: While
the non-conference portion of the schedule seemingly just
began, the Lions have only one exhibition game remaining (Dec.
13 at home vs. the Dreambuilders). The Lions tip off the MIAA
schedule on Dec. 30 with a 7:30 p.m. game at Truman.