Kirksville, Mo. -- A basket from Jason Adams broke a 43-all tie with 14 minutes left in the second half and the Lions never trailed from that point, defeating Truman State 79-69 today at Pershing Arena in Kirksville. 

Southern (12-6, 6-5 MIAA) had four score in double-figures led by 24 points from Adams. He went 10-23 from the field and 4-6 from the free-throw line. Keane Thomann was 6-9 from the field, scoring 16 points, while Mariun Price scored 14 and Skyler Bowlin added 13. 

Tom Norton led four Truman (3-15, 1-10 MIAA) scorers in double-figures, with 20 points on 6-12 shooting and 4-8 from long range. 

Truman led the game 18-10 at the 11:08 mark on a free throw from Vesko Filchev. The Bulldogs held the lead until the final buzzer of the half, when Bowlin hit a three as time expired to tie the game at 35 going into the locker room. 

Adams' layup with 14:53 remaining in the second half broke a 43-43 tie and a bucket from Thomann with 10:16 left gave the Lions a 58-47 lead. The advantage was its largest of the night at 13 (67-54) when Patrick Hester knocked home a bucket with eight minutes left. 

Southern made its final seven free-throws in a row down the stretch to seal the win. 

The Lions were out-rebounded 38-36, but forced 23 Truman turnovers, scoring 30 points off of the miscues. Southern shot 41 percent from the field and 74 percent from the free throw line, while out scoring the Bulldogs 36-26 in the paint. Southern committed a season-low nine turnovers in the game. 

Southern will be back in action on Wednesday, January 27 when the Lions play host to seventh ranked Central Missouri at 7:30 pm in the Leggett & Platt Athletic Center.