Kansas City, Mo. – The Missouri Southern men's basketball team had five players score in double-figures, but the Lions couldn't climb out of an early hole and fell 96-83 today to Upper Iowa inside historic Municipal Auditorium at the Central Region Challenge.
 
The Lions (0-1) were led by Stan Scott who scored 20 points on 7-of-9 from the free throw line and 6-of-15 from the field, while pulling down a team-high nine boards. RJ Smith had 15 points and eight rebounds, while Winston Dessesow had 15 points and six rebounds. Christian Bundy and Alex Jones had 11 points each, while Lawson Jenkins scored nine.
 
UIU (1-0) got 29 points from Jareese Williams who went a perfect 16-of-16 from the free throw line. Nick Reid had 20 points, while Joe Smoldt scored 17.
 
UIU got out to a 12-point lead (18-6) five minutes in and the lead was 17 (23-6) with 13:22 on the clock in the first half. A jumper from Dessesow with a minute to go cut the lead to 11 (47-36), but the Peacocks close the half on a 5-0 run to lead 52-36 at the break.
 
Coming out of the break, a three-point play from Bundy with 14:15 left cut the lead to 13 (62-49), and a three from Dessesow with 6:25 to go got the Lions within 11 (77-66). That would be as close as the Lions would get.
 
Southern shot 44 percent from the field and had 18 second-chance points in the game. The Lions forced 13 turnovers and scored 21 points off the miscues.
 
Southern will be back in action tomorrow as the Lions take on Southern Nazarene at 4:15 pm.