Teams:     Missouri Southern (15-11, 12-8 MIAA) at Central Missouri (13-12, 7-12  MIAA)

Date: Saturday, February 20, 2016
Tip-Off: 3:30 pm
Location: Warrensburg, Mo. 
Site:  Multipurpose Building (5,000)
Series Record: Central leads the series 36-24
Coaches:Jeff Boschee (35-22 overall/at MSSU). Doug Karleskint (38-19 at UCM/128-57 overall)

Media Coverage

MSSU Radio:FM 99.7 KBTN - Mike McClure - Play-by-play
Internet Audio:www.mssulions.com
Live Video:www.mssulions.com
Live Stats: www.mssulions.com
Lions on Facebook: Facebook.com/mososports
Lions on Twitter:@mososports; @mssumensbball

The Series

Central leads the series 36-24 and the Mules have won six of the last nine games. The Lions are 15-12 vs. UCM at home and 8-19 on the road. Central has won all but one of the neutral site battles between the two clubs. The Lions are 1-5 all-time against the Mules in MIAA Tournament games after getting a win over then No. 18 ranked UCM in 2015 and Southern has played Central Missouri once in the NCAA Tournament. 

Taevaunn Amongst The Nation's Best

Taevaunn Prince leads the country in scoring, as well as free throws attempted and made and total points. He also ranks 15th in defensive rebounds, 22nd in double-doubles, 28th in field goal percentage, 42nd in minutes per game, 15th in rebounding, 51st in total field goals attempted, 9th in total field goals, 23rd in total minutes and 10th in total rebounds.                   

NCAA Individual Stat Leaders

Taevaunn Prince isn't the only Lion that is amongst the National Leaders. Austin Wright is 54th in three pointers attempted, 25th in minutes per game, 40th in three pointers per game, 21st in three point percentage and 16th in total minutes. Bruce Marshall ranks 40th in blocks per game and 51st in total blocks.  

NCAA Team Stat Leaders

The Lions rank third in free throw percentage, 9th in free throws made, while ranking 10th in three point shooting, 32nd in field goal shooting, 42nd in free throw attempts, 44th in scoring and 40th in turnovers (fewest) per game.       

MIAA Individual Leaders: 

Prince leads the MIAA in defensive rebounds per game, double-doubles, field goal percentage, free throws made and attempted, points per game, rebounds per game, total field goals, total points and total rebounds. He  ranks second in total minutes, fifth in free throw percentage and minutes per game. Austin Wright leads the MIAA in minutes per game, total three's made and total minutes, while ranking second in three point percentage, and third in three point field goals per game. Bruce Marshall ranks third in blocks per game and total blocks.      

MIAA Team Stat Leaders

The Lions lead the MIAA free throw attempts and made, as well as scoring, and total three's made. The team ranks second in three's per game, free throw shooting and three point shooting, fourth in field goal percentage, three point attempts and scoring margin. 

Record Breakers

Senior shooting guard Austin Wright set two records for the Lions last year, including the single-season three point record (79) and the single game three-point record (9). He also owns the single-season three point percentage mark (.493) and is also the current career-leader in that category (.462). 

Record Breakers II

Wright also owns the career three pointers made record as he passed Skyler Bowlin for first all-time on that list. He made four three's at Pittsburg State on January 16 and has 256 in his career.    

Three Point Streak

The Lions failed to make a three-pointer at Arkansas Tech in their match-up in 2012-13. It was the first time in 403 games that Southern had failed to hit a three pointer, dating back to Jan. 20, 1999 against Missouri S&T. The Lions have had a three in 109-straight games since Arkansas Tech in 2012-13. 

Taevaunn's On Fire

Taevaunn Prince is averaging 26.7 and 10.3 rebounds this season. He has led the Lions in rebounding every game but two, and in points in 23 of 26.  

Sir Scores Alot

Taevaunn Prince set the MSSU single-season scoring record at Southwest Baptist this week when he notched his 695th point of the year, surpassing Chris Tuggle who had previously set the record in the 1986-87 season.  

Free Throws By the Dozen

Taevaunn Prince tied a single-game (regulation) record against Southwest Baptist when he hit 19 free throws in the game. Prince broke his own single-season record at Lincoln and now has 244 free throws made this year.  He is on pace for 263 this season, which would shatter the record he previously had. 

Shoot Em Up

The Lions tied a school record at Washburn, when Southern made 15 three pointers against the Ichabods. The 15 made treys ties a mark that has been done four other times, the last in 2013 against Missouri Western. 

Mr. 200

Austin Wright had seven three pointers against Central Oklahoma to give him 201 in his career. He currently has 256 and owns the all-time record at MSSU.

20-Point Man

Taevaunn Prince has scored 20 points or more in every game but two this season. 

30-Point Man

Taevaunn Prince has scored 30 points or more in nine different games this year. 

Mr. 1,000 

Taevaunn Prince surpassed the 1,000 point plateau this past year at Lindenwood University. He now has 1,207 points and is 12th on the all-time scoring list at MSSU. He needs 65 more points to become the all-time leading scorer for a 2-year player in MSSU history, passing Russell Bland. 

Single-Season Three's

Senior guard Austin Wright tied his single-season three point record this week with his 79th made three pointer in a game at Southwest Baptist. He now has the top two three point seasons in MSSU history.

Chasing 1,000

Senior guard Austin Wright went over the 1,000 point plateau at Southwest Baptist this past week. He currently has 1,006 career points.  

National Player Of The Week

Prince was named the D2 National Player of the Week last week after averaging 31.5 points and 11.5 rebounds per game on the week. 

Bevo Francis Small College Player Of The Year Watchlist

Taevaunn Prince has been named to the Bevo Francis Small College Player of the Year Watchlist. The list, which includes 50 players over the ranks of D2, D3 and NAIA has five total MIAA players amongst the group.  

Huge Fan Support

Missouri Southern ranks 14th nationally in average attendance with 1,684 fans per game coming to the Leggett & Platt Athletic Center. The Lions rank 12th in total attendance with 21,892 fans this season. Southern ranks fifth in the MIAA in average attendance.

Lions In The NCAA Central Region Poll

The Missouri Southern men's basketball program is ranked 10th in the first week of the poll. Northwest Missouri is third, Fort Hays is fourth, Lindenwood is sixth, Nebraska-Keaney is seventh and Pittsburg State is ninth. 

Free Throw King

Taevaunn Prince is nearing in on the MIAA single-season free throw record. Prince has 244 free throws this season and is on pace to break the MIAA record of 252.  

Up Next

Southern will finish off the regular season with a game next Saturday at home for Senior Day against Pittsburg State. Tip off is at 3 pm.