Joplin, Mo. – The Missouri Southern men's basketball team rode a nine-point halftime lead and held on to defeat Pittsburg State 71-64 tonight in Pittsburg.
 
Southern (17-10, 11-7 MIAA) had three score in double-figures led by 14 points and six assists from CJ Carr. JJ Cratit and Elyjah Clark both scored 13 points, with Cratit going 6-8 from the free throw line. Lawrence Brown had seven points and a team-high 11 rebounds, while Kinzer Lambert scored nine points off of the bench.
 
Pitt (5-21, 3-15 MIAA) had four score in double-figures led by 15 points from RJ Pair.
 
Both teams traded points early on, before a pair of jumpers from Carr and a dunk from Lambert gave the Lions a 15-10 lead at the 11:31 mark of the first half.
 
PSU got to two (20-18) with 7:14 to go, but the Lions went back up 26-18 just a minute later. Pitt, however, got back to two (28-26) with 4:33 to go, just before the Lions answered with a 7-0 run to end the half, leading 35-26 at the break.
 
Southern pushed its lead to ten (41-31) with 16:50 to go in the second half, before Pitt got back to within two at 43-31 with 14:20 left. A three from Vince Fritz and a pair of Layups from Carr, however, gave the Lions a 55-41 lead with 11:04 to go.
 
The Lions led by ten (62-52) with five minutes to go, before PSU started to make a small run, getting to wthin six (70-64) with 19 seconds left, before a free throw from Carr would provide the final tally.
 
The Lions shot 44 percent from the field, as the two teams were tied with 35 rebounds each. Southern forced 19 PSU turnovers, scoring 15 points off of the miscues.
 
The Lions will conclude the regular season this Thursday night as Southern plays host to Central Missouri. Tip off from Robert Corn Court inside the Leggett & Platt Athletic Center is slated for 7:30 pm.