Joplin, Mo. -- The Missouri Southern men's basketball team will open up the 2018 MIAA Basketball Tournament as the Lions will take on Fort Hays State in a quarterfinal matchup at 2:15 pm on Friday afternoon from historic Municipal Auditorium.
Game Information
Teams: (RV) Missouri Southern (20-8) vs. Fort Hays State (18-11)
Date: March 2, 2018
Tip-Off:2:15 PM
Location: Kansas City, Mo
Site: Municipal Auditorium (7,316)
Series Record: FHSU leads 31-20
Coaches: Jeff Boschee (76-43 overall/at MSSU - 4th year). Mark Johnson (341-160 overall/at FHSU)
Media Coverage
MSSU Radio: Mike McClure - Play by play - Fox Sports Joplin - 101.3, 103.5 FM, AM 1560 KXMS 88.7 FM
Internet Audio: http://www.mssulions.com
Live Video: http://www.themiaanetwork.com/mssulions
Live Stats: http://sidearmstats.com/miaa/mbball
Lions on Facebook: Facebook.com/mososports
Lions on Twitter: @mososports; @mssumensbball
The Series
Fort Hays holds a 31-20 advantage over the Lions. Prior to the 2007-08 season, all of the games came when both teams were in the CSIC. Hays had won five in a row, before the Lions defeated the Tigers in the first-round of the 2014 NCAA Central Regional. The Tigers have had two separate streaks of five wins in a row. Southern dropped seven straight games from 1982 to 1985. The largest margin of victory for the Lions came on two consecutive games on Feb. 18, 1977 and Feb. 3, 1978 when Southern defeated the Tigers by identical 15 point margins. The largest margin of victory for the Tigers came in the 1987-88 season when Hays defeated Southern twice by the margins of 26 and 44 points. At home, Southern is 14-8 against the Tigers. The Lions are 4-19 in Hays and are 2-4 in neutral site games. The Lions defeated FHSU 76-67 in the MIAA Tournament last year.
NCAA Individual Stat Leaders
CJ Carr is 17th nationlly in steals per game, while ranking 10th in total steals. Carr ranks 19th in assists per game and 22nd in total assists, while ranking 33rd in total minutes and 43rd in minutes per game. Elyjah Clark ranks fifth in total three's made and three pointers per game, while ranking 11th in three point percentage, 23rd in three point attemps, 43rd in minutes per game and 55th in total minutes.
The Killer C's
CJ Carr and Elyjah Clark are two of the top players in the MIAA. Carr leads the MIAA in assists per game, steals per game, total assists and total steals, while Clark leads the league in three pointers per game, three point percentage and total threes.
All-MIAA
CJ Carr was named a first-team All-MIAA selection this year and Elyjah Clark was named a second-team selection. Carr was a member of the All-Defensive Team, while Kinzer Lambert was an honorable mention All-MIAA pick.
Coach of the Year
Jeff Boschee has been named the 2018 MIAA Coach of the Year. Boschee has coached the Lions to a 20-win season for the second time in his four-year career. This year, the Lions were picked to finish sixth in the preseason coaches poll and the Lions finished the season second overall with two wins over regular-season MIAA Champ Northwest Missouri.
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 172-straight games since Arkansas Tech in 2012-13.
Bomb's Away
Elyjah Clark tied the single-game MSSU record for three pointers in a game at Pittsburg State. The sophomore had nine three's in the game, tying Austin Wright's record that was set in 2015.
Bombs Away 2
The Lions have broke the MSSU single-season record for threes by a team with 271, breaking last year's record of 250.
Three's Company
The Lions shattered the previous MSSU school record for three pointers in a game against Randall as Southern made 20 three pointers against the Saints. The previous record of 15 was set in 2003 against St. Gregory's.
Home Sweet Home
Missouri Southern can count on some of the best fan support in Division II. The Lions rank 12th nationally in home attendance this season, averaging 1,530 fans per game. That number is fourth in the MIAA.
Holy Points Batman
The Lions scored 110 points in a win over Randall. The 110 points were the most the team has scored since they scored 113 against Southwest Baptist in 2014.
Keys to Success
So far this season the Lions are a perfect 7-0 when they score 90 points or more and they are 13-0 when they out-shoot their opponents. In Jeff Boschee's tenure, the team is 6-0 when the two teams tie in rebounding
Comeback Kids
The Lions trailed by as many as 15 points with eight minutes left in the first half against Northwest Missouri, but closed the half to trail by just three. Against Missouri Western, the Lions trailed by nine midway through the second half before making the comeback. Against Emporia State, the Lions trailed by nine points with seven minutes left, before mounting a comeback. The Lions also trailed by eight with nine minutes left to Central Missouri before winning at home and erased a seven-point lead by the Mules with one minute left at Warrensburg. Southern has six second-half comebacks this year.
CJ Taketh and Giveth
CJ Carr leads the MIAA in both assists and steals this season, while ranking 17th and 22nd nationally in both those categories.
Hard Workin' Men
CJ Carr has played in all 40 minutes of the last seven games in a row and in eight games all year long. Carr ranks 43rd nationally in minutes per game. Elyjah Clark has played 40 minutes in the last six games in a row.
NCAA D-II Central Regional Poll
The Lions moved up to No. 4 this week in the NCAA Division II Central Region Poll. Southern started at No. 9 in the poll last week.
Ranked Opponents
The Lions played their fourth ranked opponent this season when they defeated 6th-ranked Northwest Missouri on Feb. 17. The Lions are 3-1 this year against ranked opponents, losing to then 25th-ranked Northern State, but beating top-ranked Northwest Missouri once and again when they were ranked sixth, as well as 25th ranked Central Missouri.
Strange Things
At Central Oklahoma, both the Lions and the Bronchos had identical 24-28 marks from the free-throw line and against Central Missouri, the Lions and Mules had identical rebounding lines of nine offensive, 18 defensive and 27 total.
Records Watch
Sophomore Elyjah Clark had the Missouri Southern single-season record for three pointers last season as a freshman with 89 and has already broke that record this year with 104 and counting. This year, to date, Clark is on pace for 107. Clark has 193 career threes and is well over halfway to the career record of 265 set by Austin Wright. If Clark continues on this pace, he will finish is career with 398 threes.
Chasin' A Grand
CJ Carr went over the 1,000 point mark in his short, two-year career at Southern in the win at Northwest Missouri. He now has 1,052 points and is the 20th Lion to reach that number. Elyjah Clark has 890 points.
Send Em Off
The MSSU Athletic Department will be holding team send-offs in the lobby of the Kansas City Downtown Marriott prior to every MSSU MIAA Tournament game. Food and drink will be served on Friday two hours before tip off, and the team send-off will take place an hour and forty five minutes prior to each game. Kansas City Downtown Marriott is located at 200 W 12th Street in downtown Kansas City. Come out and support your Lions!
Elyjah For Three
Clark has the top-two single-season three-point totals in MSSU history and his 193 threes made in his two-year career rank fourth. His career three-point percentage of .431 is second-best all-time, while he also tied the single-game record for three's made with nine. He has the season and career record for three pointers per game, while also holding the MSSU season and career record for consecutive games with a three. Clark has made a three pointer in every game this season and has made one in 45 consecutive games, dating back to January of 2017.
Lions On The Radio
The majority of the Lions games this season can be heard on the Missouri Southern Radio Network in Joplin. Southern is partnering with Fox Sports Joplin, the Lions can be heard on 101.3 FM, 103.5 FM, 88.7 FM and AM 1560.
Lions on TV
All Missouri Southern conference home games will be brought to you live this season courtesy of KGCS TV in Joplin. Fans can catch the action over the air live on Digital Channel 22 as well as on local cable systems.
Up Next
With a win, the Lions will take on the winner of the Washburn/Nebraska-Kearney game at 6 pm on Saturday night.
