Joplin, Mo. – The Missouri Southern men's basketball team utilized multiple runs in the second half to take out Pittsburg State, 92-88 on Robert Corn Court inside the Leggett & Platt Athletic Center.
 
Southern (19-8, 14-4 MIAA) was led offensively from CJ Carr as the senior scored 28 points and added five assists and five rebounds. Enis Memic scored 18, while Elyjah Clark scored 17 and Kinzer Lambert added 11 points and 11 rebounds.
 
Pitt State (15-12, 8-10 MIAA) had four score in double-figures led by 30 from Xavier Adams.
 
Pitt hit three three pointers early on to take a 11-2 lead with 16:37 left in the first half. The lead was 16-11, but a 12-7 run from the Lions, capped by a free throw from Christian Bundy tied the game at 23 with 8:29 left. A three from Carr with 3:12 left in the half got the Lions within one (32-31), but PSU reeled off six-straight points to lead 38-31 with 1:46 left in the half.
 
A three from Carr got the Lions within four, and after a steal from Carr and a dish to Bundy for a layup, the Lions trailed by three (41-38) under a minute. A free throw from Carr in the final seconds made the halftime score 41-39, Pitt state.
 
Southern started the second half on a 14-6 run and led 54-49 with 14:58 to go in the half. The game was tied at 61, but an 8-0 run from the Lions, capped by a three-point play from Vince Fritz put the Lions up 69-61 with 9:43 left.
 
A three from Pitt put the Gorillas up 76-74, but Carr answered at the other end with a three of his own to give the Lions back the lead at 77-76 with 5:47 left and a basket from Vince Fritz with just more than three to go put the Lions up five (83-78). The lead was seven (85-78) and forced a PSU timeout.
 
A pair of free throws from Lambert with 56 seconds left pushed the Lions' lead to three (87-74) and despite Pitt cutting the lead to two, twice in the final 15 seconds, the Lions made their free throws and sealed the win.  
 
Southern shot 49 percent from the field, including 62 percent in the second half. The Lions out rebounded the Gorillas 39-33 and outscored them 44-28 in the paint.
 
Southern will finish up the regular season on Thursday night as the Lions travel to Central Missouri. Tip-off is slated for 7:30 pm.