Joplin, Mo. -- The Missouri Southern men's basketball team will be back in the friendly confines of the Leggett & Platt Athletic Center as the Lions play host to Fort Hays State this Thursday night. TIp off from Robert Corn Court is slated for 7:30 pm.
Game Information
Teams: Missouri Southern (5-5, 5-5 MIAA) vs. Fort Hays State (3-7, 3-7 MIAA)
Date: Jan. 21, 2021
Tip-Off: 7:30 pm
Location: Joplin, Mo.
Site: Robert Corn Court - Leggett & Platt Athletic Center
Series Record: Fort Hays Leads 33-22
Coaches: Jeff Boschee (129-66 overall/at MSSU - 7th year). Mark Johnson (376-193 overall/at FHSU - 20th Year).
Media Coverage
MSSU Radio: Justin Maskus - 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
Fort Hays holds a 33-22 advantage over the Lions. Prior to the 2007-08 season, all of the games came when both teams were in the CSIC. 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 15-8 against the Tigers. The Lions are 5-20 in Hays and are 2-5 in neutral site games.
MIAA Team Stat Leaders
The Lions rank second in rebound margin, while ranking third in both blocks per game and total blocks.
NCAA Team Stat Leaders
Southern ranks sixth in total blocks, while ranking 12th in total rebounds, 19th in total assists, 25thin both free throw attempts and free throws made, 27th in three point attempts and 28th in total three pointers made.
MIAA Individual Stat Leaders
Cam Martin leads the MIAA in scoring, total field goal attempts, total field goals made and total points, while ranking second in field goal percentage, free throw attempts and free throws made, and third in both defensive rebounds per game and total rebounds. RJ Smith ranks third in offensive rebounds per game.
NCAA Individual Stat Leaders
Martin ranks second nationally in total field goals made and total points, while ranking fourth in total field goal attempts and free throw attempts, fifth in scoring, sixth in rebounds, seventh in double-doubles, eighth in free throws made, 16th in total minutes and 17th in defensive rebounds per game. RJ Smith ranks 15th in total rebounds.
New Career Highs
Against Newman, both Kyle Young (23 points) and Stan Scott (19 points) set their individual career-highs for single-game scoring. Lawson Jenkins set his individual single-game record for points with 14 against Rogers State.
Records Watch
Cam Martin sits in four different MSSU career categories for the Lions. Martin currently has the top career scoring average at 23.5, while ranking fifth in career field goal percentage (.587) and in career rebounds (681) and sixth in career scoring (1,717).
Cam You Score A lot
Cam Martin put himself amongst the Missouri Southern single-season scoring leaders when 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. Martin eclipsed his total from that season with 746 last year and is the only player in Southern history to do that twice in a career.
Cam You Score A lot II
Cam Martin set the MSSU single-game scoring record at Missouri Western in 2019-20 as he scored 54 points against the Griffons. The 54 points was the most scored in Division II that year and Cam was one of only four players to hit the 50-point plateau last year. Martin had two of the top-eight scoring games that season in Division II.
The Century Mark
Jeff Boschee won his 100th career game at Missouri Southern against Washburn in the 2019 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 was 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 244-straight games since Arkansas Tech in 2012-13.
20-Win Seasons
The win against Central Missouri last year gave the Lions 20 wins for the third-straight season and the fifth time in the last seven seasons. It is the fourth 20-win season in Jeff Boschee's six years as a head coach.
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 67-15 in Jeff Boschee's tenure at home.
Active NCAA Career Leaders
Cam Martin is in rare company among the active career leaders in NCAA Division II. Martin currently is the active career leader in field goals made, free throws made, freee throws attempted, scoring average and double-doubles. Martin ranks third in active career points and rebounds, while also leading Division II among the group of individuals with 1,500 points and 600 rebounds.
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.
Lions In The Pros
Currently, there are nine active former Lions playing professionally in Europe or overseas. Skyler Bowlin (Iraklis - Greece), Elyjah Clark (Ankara Basket - Turkey), Enis Memic (Spars - Bosina), Vincent Ateba (Saint Vallier - France), Keane Thomann (BAC - Denmark), Marquis Addison (Sibiu - Romania), CJ Carr (Fjolnir - Iceland), JJ Cratit (TSV - Germany) and Jordan Talbert (Wolmirsted - Germany) all are playing professionally.
Home Sweet Home
Missouri Southern can count on some of the best fan support in Division II. Last season, the Lions ranked 7th nationally in home attendance, averaging 1,809 fans per game. That number was second-best in the MIAA.
D1 Transfers
Southern welcomes in two Division I transfers to this year's team in RJ Smith and Yagizhan Selcuk. Smith came to the Lions from Sam Houston State where he started all 31 games a season ago. Selcuk came to Southern from Montana where he saw limited action as a sophomore.
How Do You Say That?
Newcomer Yagizhan Selcuk will most likely have to pronounce his name for many PA announcers this year, but to help out, we call him Yagi for short. You can pronounce his name Yagi Sell-Chook.
Reachin' A Grand
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 1,698 points in his career and is in 6th place on the all-time scoring list, having passed both Skyler Bowlin and Marquis Addison with 33 points at Pitt State this season. Next up on the list is John Thomas at No. five with 1,770 points.
Up Next
The Lions will be back in action this Saturday when Southern plays host to Nebraska-Kearney. Tip off from Robert Corn Court inside the Leggett & Platt Athletic Center is slated for 3:30 pm.
