Southern (9-17, 4-13 MIAA) will face off with Missouri Western this Saturday night in a winner-take-all game for the eighth and final spot in the MIAA Tournament next weekend. Western lost at home tonight to Northwest Missouri.

The Lions scored the first six points of the game as Stanley Titsworth (Muskogee, Okla.) and Deonte Cox (St. Louis, Mo.) combined to give Southern a quick 6-0 lead. The Gorillas (15-11, 8-9 MIAA) responded, however, with a 15-1 run of their own and led by eight with 11 minutes to play. PSU would again lead by 11 going into the locker room, as Joe Bridges drove the length of the court in just four seconds to hit a driving layup as time expired.

Southern cut the lead to three (57-54) with six and a half minutes to go after two free throw's from Titsworth. A 7-1 run by the Gorillas made the lead nine with 4:37 to go capped off by a pair of free throws from Bridges. The Lions cut the lead to one with 1:27 remaining, but went cold down the stretch. A three from TJ Britton (Poplar Bluff, Mo.) with five seconds left would have tied the game, but the shot didn't fall.

Titsworth led all scorers with 21 points in 32 minutes. He went 7-15 from the field, 3-8 from long range and 4-4 from the charity stripe. Cox had 12 points, while Ed Miles (Dallas, Texas) added 11 points and five boards.

The Lions out shot PSU from every part of the floor, but 15 Southern turnovers led directly to 27 Gorilla points.

Southern will be back in action this Saturday night at 7:30 pm against Missouri Western. The winner will be the 8th seed in the upcoming MIAA Basketball Tournament in Kansas City. The game will also be senior night for the Lions' three seniors: Miles, Matt Habermehl and Dale Hunter.