Joplin, Mo. -- The 10th-ranked Missouri Southern men's basketball team will head out on the road tomorrow night as the Lions travel to Jefferson City to take on Lincoln. Tip off from Jason Gym is slated for 7:30 pm.
Game Information
Teams: #10 Missouri Southern (13-2, 6-0 MIAA) at Lincoln (6-8, 3-2 MIAA)
Date: Jan. 16, 2020
Tip-Off: 7:30 pm
Location: Jefferson City, Mo.
Site: Jason Gym
Series Record: Lions lead 28-11
Coaches: Jeff Boschee (114-55 overall/at MSSU - 6th year). John Moseley (76-85 overall/at Lincoln - 6th year)
Media Coverage
MSSU Radio: Mike McClure - Play by play - Fox Sports Joplin - 101.3, 107.9 FM, AM 1560 & 1340; KXMS 88.7 FM
Live Audio/Video/Stats - https://www.mssulions.com/coverage
Lions on Facebook: Facebook.com/mososports
Lions on Twitter: @mososports; @mssumensbball
The Series
The Lions lead the series between the two teams by a margin of 28-11. Southern is 13-5 at home against the Blue Tigers, while the Lions are 14-5 in Jefferson City. The Lions and Lincoln have split neutral site games, both at Pittsburg. The Lions and Blue Tigers have played in four overtime games in the series with the two teams splitting the games. The Lions have won 18 of the last 21 games against the Blue Tigers.
MIAA Team Stat Leaders
The Lions, as a team, lead the MIAA in assist to turnover ratio, assists per game, rebound margin, scoring, three point field goals per game, total three pointers made, total assists and total rebounds per game.
MIAA Individual Stat Leaders
Cam Martin leads the MIAA leads the MIAA in free throws made and attempted, while ranking second in total points, total rebounds, scoring, rebounding and total field goals. Reggie Tharp is second in assist to turnover ratio.
NCAA Team Stat Leaders
The Lions, as a team, rank seventh in rebound margin, ninth in scoring margin, 11th in assist to turnover ratio, 14th in defensive rebounds per game, 16th in three pointers per game, 17th in total three pointers made, 18th in three point defense, 20th in both field goal percentage and three point percentage, 22nd in assists per game, 23rd in fewest turnovers per game and total assists, 25th in defense, and 27th in total rebounds per game.
NCAA Individual Stat Leaders
Cam Martin is ranks 31st nationally in free throw attempts, while ranking 32nd in total points, 34th in free throws made, 35th in scoring, total rebounds and total field goals made and 37th in rebounds per game. Reggie Tharp ranks 38th in assist to turnover ratio.
Streak Stopper
Coming into the 2018-19 Elyjah Clark had made a three pointer in 47-straight games, dating back to his freshman season. Clark, however, missed out on a three in the first game of the year, and ran another streak to 37 games before he failed to make a three against Culver-Stockton this year.
Cam You Score A Lot?
Cam Martin tied a MSSU single-game record with 49 points at Minnesota State in 2018-19. The mark tied Carl Tyler from 1984. Martin nearly set the NCAA Tournament scoring record against Washburn in 2019 as he finished with 46 points, eight off the record of 54.
Cam You Score A lot II
Cam Martin put himself amongst the Missouri Southern single-season scoring leaders as he became only the second Lion to ever score 700 or more points, joining Taevaunn Prince in that category last season. He finished with 720 which is the second most scored in a single-season at MSSU.
The Century Mark
Jeff Boschee won his 100th career game at Missouri Southern against Washburn in the NCAA Tournament. He became the quickest to 100 wins in MSSU history. The previous mark was Frank Davis who reached 100 wins in 161 games. Boschee did it in 152 games.
Bevo Francis Watchlist
For the second year in a row, Cam Martin has been named to the Bevo Francis Award Watchlist. The award goes to the best player in small school basketball which encompasses Division II, Division III, and the NAIA.
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 220-straight games since Arkansas Tech in 2012-13.
Perfection
For just the third time in program history, the Lions went perfect at home during the 2018-19 season (13-0). Only the 1969-70 (11-0) and the 1999-2000 (18-0) teams were also perfect at home. The Lions are 62-12 in Jeff Boschee's tenure at home.
Perfection II
This season, the Lions are perfect when the following things happen: playing at home, scoring 70-79 points, scoring more than 90 points, allowing fewer than 69 points, make more free throws, game is decided by 20 or more points and playing on Tuesday, Friday, Saturday or Sunday.
Three's Company
The Lions broke the MSSU single-game 3-point record with 22 3's against Washburn in the NCAA Tournament in 2018-19. The 22 3's was one three-pointer off of the NCAA Tournament record of 23 in a single-game.
Home Sweet Home
Missouri Southern can count on some of the best fan support in Division II. This season, the Lions rank 8th nationally in home attendance, averaging 1,576 fans per game. That number is second-best in the MIAA.
National Ranking
The Lions are ranked No. 10 in the NABC poll this week and 12th in the D2 SID's Poll. In the history of the NABC Poll, the Lions have been ranked 71 times, including 23-consecutive weeks at one time. The team has been No. 1 once (in the 2011 season).
Professional Lions
The Lions have nine former players playing professionally either in Europe or in the NBA's G-League. Marquis Addison plays in Switzerland for Geneve, while Skyler Bowlin plays in Germany for S. Oliver Wurzburg. Cameron Cornelius plays in Romania for CSM Focsani, while Vincent Ateba plays in France for Orcheisien BC. Keane Thomann plays in Denmark for EBAA, while Enis Memic plays in Bosnia for Spars, while Jordan Talbert plays in Germany for Wolmirstedt. Taevaunn Prince plays in Spain for Ponferrada CDP. CJ Carr plays in the NBA's G-League for the Iowa Wolves, an affiliate of the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Record-Breaking Sniper
Senior Elyjah Clark already has the Missouri Southern single-season record for three pointers with 110. Clark broke the career record against Fort Hays State in 2018-19 and has 326 career three pointers now as a senior. With the rest of the season left to play, Clark now can target the MIAA record of 370.
Reachin' A Grand
Elyjah Clark went over 1,000 points in his career with 18 points against Minnesota-Crookston in 2018-19. He currently has 1,593 in his career and was the 22nd person in MSSU history to crack the 1,000 point plateau. Clark has moved into 7th place all-time, passing Chris Tucker. Next up is Skyler Bowlin with 1,664 points for 6th place.
Reachin' A Grand II
Kinzer Lambert went over the 1,000 point plateau last season and currently has 1,203 points in his career at Southern. He was the 23rd Lion to do so in the program's history and sits at 14th place on the scoring list in MSSU history.
Reachin' A Grand III
Cam Martin went over the 1,000 point plateau with his 26 points against Nebraska-Kearney on Jan. 6, 2020. Martin accomplished the feat in 45 games, the fastest Lion to hit that mark. He currently has 1,039 points in his career.
A Grand Ole Time
With Cam Martin getting his 1,000th point this season, the Lions have three members on the squad that have 1,000 career points. It is the first time in school history a team has had three different 1,000 point scorers at the same time.
Elyjah For Three
Clark has the top-two single-season three-point totals in MSSU history and his 326 threes made in his three-plus year career rank first. His career three-point percentage of .399 is tied for third-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 (47).
Up Next
Southern will stay on the road, taking on Central Missouri this Saturday at 3:00 pm.
