Joplin, Mo. – A huge game from
LJ Ross and a big second half for the Missouri Southern men's basketball team lifted the Lions over visiting Oklahoma Wesleyan 89-70 on
Robert Corn Court inside the Leggett & Platt Athletic Center.
Southern (9-3) was led by a career-high 36 points from
LJ Ross as he added 13 rebounds, going 10-16 from the field and 16-18 from the free-throw line.
CJ Carr had a double-double of his own with 14 points and ten assists.
Oklahoma Wesleyan (7-9) was led by 30 points from Breiman Alexander.
The Eagles scored the game's first basket, but that would be the only lead of the half for OKWU. A 12-3 run for the Lions, capped by a layup from Cratit with 14:15 left had the Lions with a 12-5 lead.
The Eagles, however, cut the lead to two (14-12) with 12:26 left after a three from Elbert Lawrence, but the Lions, on a free throw from
Braelon Walker, a three from
Parker Jennings and a layup from
Dexter Frisbie gave Southern a 20-14 lead with just over ten minutes to go in the half.
The Southern lead was eight (33-25) with 3:17 left in the half, but Oklahoma Wesleyan went on a 12-4 run to end the half as Southern held a tight 39-37 lead at the break.
A three-pointer for OKWU with just under 18 minutes left in the second-half gave the Eagles a 44-43 lead, but a three from Clark the next trip down for the Lions gave Southern back the lead at 46-44.
A three from
Vince Fritz with 11:50 left in the game gave the Lions a 66-58 lead and a three from Carr with just over ten to go made the lead 69-61, Lions.
A steal and a fast-break layup from Jennings gave the Lions their largest lead of the game (11) at 74-63 with 7:41 left in the half. The Southern lead reached 18 (88-70) with just over two minutes left after a fast-break layup from Cratit.
The Lions held a 42-24 advantage in the paint and scored 33 points off of 29 Oklahoma Wesleyan turnovers. Southern also had a 25-2 advantage in free throws.
The Lions will be back in action on Monday night (Jan. 2) as Southern plays host to Randall University at 7:30 pm.
