Missouri Southern Lions (7-2, 0-0) at Truman Bulldogs (3-6, 0-0)
Game 10 • 7:30 pm •  Dec. 30, 2003 • Kirksville, Mo. • Pershing Arena (3,000)
* * * 2003-04 MIAA Opener * * *
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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 is in his 15th season at the helm of the Lions, and he has posted a 231-172 record for a winning percentage of .573. 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. Corn is 15-9 vs. Truman
Jack Schrader is in the ninth year of his collegiate head coaching career with each year spent at Truman. He holds a career mark of 93-136 (.406). The 1998-99 MIAA Co-Coach of the Year and NABC Regional Coach of the Year, he is 4-12 vs. the Lions.

The Series: The Lions have won eight straight games over Truman, sweeping the last four seasons. Overall, Southern holds a 16-10 advantage in the series and is 7-6 in games played at Kirksville. Last year, MSSU was a 91-83 winner at Truman thanks to a then-career high 28 points from Ameer Watts. In Joplin later in the year, the Lions ended the game on a 13-2 run to pull out a 75-73 win.

The Lions
Missouri Southern opens conference play at Truman on Tuesday night having not played a game since a Dec. 6 drubbing of St. Gregory’s (Okla.), 93-70, in the second day of the Freeman Sports Medicine/Chris Tucker Memorial Classic. The Lions won back-to-back games in their classic, including a 104-67 rout on Dec. 5 over Central Baptist.
Three Lions come into Tuesday’s game averaging double figures in scoring, led by senior point guard Ameer Watts at 15 points per game. Junior forward Orestus “O.C.” Cavness is next at 14.4 points, followed by junior guard Hiram Ocasio at 12.9 points per game.
Senior forward Darrell Redmond is Southern’s top rebounder at 5.9 boards per game. Watts also leads the team with 4.78 assists per game, and Ocasio is tops on the team and in the MIAA with a 4.22 steals average.

Lions in the MIAA
Five different Missouri Southern players rank among the MIAA leaders in various categories.
Senior point guard Ameer Watts leads the MIAA in free throw percentage (.912) and is ranked seventh in the conference in scoring (15.0 ppg). He’s also tied for second in steals (2.78 pg), tied for third in three-pointers made (2.44 pg) and fifth in assists (4.78 pg).
Junior guard Hiram Ocasio leads the MIAA in with 4.22 steals per game. He’s also seventh in the league with a 1.33 blocks average, 10th in free throw percentage (.739) and 17th in scoring (12.9 ppg).
Junior forward Orestus “O.C.” Cavness is also among the league’s top 10 in scoring, ranking ninth with 14.4 points per game. He’s also sixth in field goal percentage (.552).
Junior reserve point guard Jeremy “Pee-Wee” Jones is tied for 10th in assists (3.44 pg) and ranks fifth in assist-turnover ratio (2.38).
Senior forward Darrell Redmond is 13th in rebounding, at 5.9 per game.
As a team, Southern continues to lead the conference with 13.22 steals per game. The Lions are also second in the conference with 14.44 offensive rebounds per game.
The first NCAA Division II statistics report is not yet available.v
Watts’ eight threes made vs. St. Gregory’s (Okla.) is the most by an MIAA player in the single game this year, and his 14 attempts from three-point distance is tied for the most. Ocasio’s nine steals against Paul Quinn (Texas) is also an MIAA single game high.

Threes Starting to Fall
The long ball didn’t appear to be a strength for Missouri Southern early in the year. The team shot 23.2 percent (22-of-95) from three-point range over its first five games, but came on strong as December began. Over their last four games, the Lions have made 44.6 percent (45-of-101) from beyond the arc. Three players have played a key role in that resurgence. Ameer Watts, thanks in large part to his school record 8-of-14 three-point shooting vs. St. Gregory’s on Dec. 6, has made 17 of his last 35 threes, or 48.6 percent. Watts was last year’s MIAA champion in three-point accuracy. Senior guard MacKenzie Sherrel has connected on 7-of-12 triples (58.3 percent) over the last four games, and has scored in double figures in his last two. Orestus Cavness is shooting 52.9 percent (9-of-17) from long distance over the last four contests.

Nice Touch
Despite their early troubles from three-point range, the Lions have had good luck shooting so far in 2003-04. In five of their last seven games, Missouri Southern has made 50 percent or better of its shots. MSSU hit on 50 percent of its shots over a four-game stretch from Nov. 22-29.
Only two Lion opponents have managed to connect on 50 percent or better from the field. On both occasions, MSSU suffered a loss.

Matt Making a Mark
True freshman Matt Habermehl is getting more work on the court in competitive situations. Since missing the Quincy game with the flu, he has played in each of the last five games. Thus far on the year, he’s made 10-of-18 field goal attempts, 4-of-4 free throws and is averaging 3.4 points and 2.9 rebounds in 9.3 minutes of play. The 6-foot-8 Habermehl sat out last year, electing to instead play baseball at Crowder College.

Overshadowed
With Ameer Watts’ school-record three-point outing vs. St. Gregory’s, senior Deon Rose’s career-best seven-assist performance was lost in the shuffle. Orestus Cavness also matched his career-high with 21 points.

Scouting Truman
The Bulldogs have had their wins and losses in groups of three this season. They opened with three consecutive defeats at the hands of Quincy (Ill.), Culver-Stockton (Mo.) and Northeastern State (Okla.). Truman then won three straight to get back to .500, defeating Missouri opponents Lincoln, Maryville and Harris-Stowe. Since then, TSU has gone back on a three-game skid, losing to William Penn (Iowa), Findlay (Ohio) and Grand Valley State (Mich.).
Senior forward Matt Beran leads the Bulldogs in scoring (13.0 ppg) and rebounding (8.4 rpg), but has missed the last four games due to injury. Freshman Grant Agbo is second on the squad with 12.5 points and 5.9 rebounds a game. Sophomore Chip Sodemann is averaging 8.2 points and 2.3 assists. He is the only Bulldog to start all nine games on the year, as Truman has used a new starting lineup for each game. Ten different players have started.
Truman is shooting 38.6 percent from the field, 24.8 percent from three-point range and 58.7 percent from the foul line. Opponents are hitting on 41.9 percent from the field and 39.5 percent from long distance.

Last Year’s Games
Lions 91, @ Truman 83 - Jan. 25, 2003
KIRKSVILLE, Mo. –– For the fifth time in as many years, the Lions’ point guard set a career-high at Truman’s Pershing Arena.
After four years of Eddin Santiago’s career-best exploits, Ameer Watts followed suit, knocking down 28 points to go with five assists and no turnovers. He led five Lions in double figures in the 91-83 win.
Southern stayed in control throughout, but the Bulldogs got the lead down to one point midway through the second half. From there, the Lions went on a 16-4 run and secured the victory by making eight of their final 11 charity tosses.

@ Lions 75, Truman 73 - Feb. 22, 2003
JOPLIN, Mo. –– Southern trailed by nine with 2:30 to play, but ended the game on a 13-2 run to pull out the win.
Redshirt freshman Michael Aponte hit two free throws with 16 seconds left and junior Ameer Watts got a steal with three seconds to play, preventing a potential game-winning or game-tying shot.
Watts finished with 21 points and scored nine of Southern’s last 19 points.
The Lions struggled from the three-point line in the second half, but got hot at the right time, making each of their last four, all in the final 3:19.

Up Next: Missouri Southern returns home for a Saturday (Jan. 3) meeting with Missouri Western and a 7:30 p.m. tipoff. The Lions continue the homestand on Jan. 7 when border rival Pittsburg State comes calling. That 7:30 p.m. game marks the first round of the newly-dubbed Cafe Del Rio Bordertown Battle.