Joplin, Mo. – Stan Scott scored 29 points, but a strong second half from Emporia State lifted the Hornets over the Lions 85-72 today inside the Leggett & Platt Athletic Center.
Southern (8-6, 5-3 MIAA) was led in scoring by
Stan Scott who had 29 points on 10-of-19 shooting and 7-of-8 from the free throw line.
Avery Taggart had 11 points, while
Lawson Jenkins scored 10.
ESU (14-3, 9-2 MIAA) was led in scoring by Tray Buchanan with 38 points.
Back-to-back three's from Dessesow and Scott gave the Lions a quick 6-2 lead to start the game and a three from Scott made the score 11-8 with 16:30 on the clock. A layup from the Hornets' Brendan Van Dyke gave ESU a 14-11 lead with 14 minutes left, but the Lions re-took the lead at 17-16 with 12:24 left and a three from
Avery Taggart and a layup from
Ndongo Ndaw made the score 24-19 with 9:12 left to play.
A three-point play from Scott with 6:15 left pushed the Southern lead to eight (29-21), while a three pointer from
Lawson Jenkins after an offensive rebound from Ndaw gave the Lions a 38-31 lead with 2:45 left on the clock. ESU closed the half on a 9-3 run to make the score 41-40, Lions at the break.
Scott opened the scoring for both teams on the Lions' first possession, but a pair of freebies for the Hornets gave ESU a 46-43 lead with 17:14 left in the 2
nd half. The Hornets led 50-45, but a bucket from Scott cut the lead to three (52-49) and a three-point play from Taggart made the score 60-58 with ten minutes to go.
A bucket from Taggart with 8:45 to go got the Lions within one (63-62), but the Hornets answered and went on a 12-6 run to lead 75-68 with 3:26 left on the clock.
A bucket from
Christian Bundy with 1:33 on the clock made the score 78-72, ESU, but that was as close as the Lions would get down the stretch.
The Lions had an advantage in assists (16-7) and bench points (29-12), as well as points in the paint (32-30).
Southern will be back in action on January 20 when the Lions travel to Fort Hays State. Tip off from Gross Memorial Coliseum is set for 7:30 pm.
