Joplin, Mo. – A putback from Christian Bundy with .4 seconds left on the clock completed the comeback as the Missouri Southern men's basketball team defeated Central Oklahoma 77-75 on Robert Corn Court inside the Leggett & Platt Athletic Center tonight.
 
The Lions (4-3, 1-0 MIAA) outscored Central Oklahoma 42-33 in the second half as five different players scored in double-figures tonight. Alex Jones led the way with 14 points on 6-of-9 shooting, while Winston Dessesow and Martin Macenis had 13 points each. The 13 for Macenis is a career-high, while the 14 for Jones is also a career-high. Bundy had 12 points and nine rebounds, while Stan Scott scored ten points.
 
UCO (4-2, 0-1 MIAA) was led by 30 points and ten rebounds from Cam Givens.
 
The Bronchos jumped out to an early 13-point lead (19-6) with 12 minutes left and UCO led by 13 again (32-19) with seven minutes to go. The deficit was 11 (39-28) with 2:24 to go, but the Lions pushed and cut the lead to four (39-35) after a bucket from Lawson Jenkins.
 
The Bronchos got three late points with no time on the clock as Jaden Wells made three free throws to give UCO a 42-35 lead at the break.
 
A layup from Jones with 17 minutes left in the second half got the Lions within three (45-42) and a three-point play from Jenkins with 11:46 tied the score at 50. The Bronchos went back up by five (62-57) with seven to go and led by five again with 2:41 on the clock.
 
Back-to-back buckets from Bundy, the latter with 49 seconds left the score at 72, while the free throw to complete the three-point play from Bundy on the second shot gave the Lions a 73-72 lead.
 
Scott hit a pair of free throws to give the Lions a 75-72 lead with 25 seconds left, but a three-point play from the Bronchos the next trip down tied the score with 11 seconds to go.
 
The Lions called timeout and set up a play in their own half of the court. After a missed layup from Dessesow, Bundy cleaned up the glass and put back the eventual game-winner to give the Lions a 77-75 lead with 0.4 left on the clock. Bundy then intercepted the inbounds pass from the Bronchos to seal the win.
 
The Lions shot 48 percent from the field in the game and 75 percent from the free throw line. Southern out-rebounded UCO 34-31 and had a 38-32 advantage in the paint.
 
Southern will be back in action on Saturday afternoon as the Lions play host to Newman. Tip off from the Leggett & Platt Athletic Center is set for 3:30 pm.