Joplin, Mo. – The Missouri Southern men's basketball team led by 11 at the break and cruised to an 84-63 win tonight over Rogers State inside the Leggett & Platt Athletic Center.
 
Southern (10-7, 7-4 MIAA) was led by Avery Taggart who had 19 points and four assists, while Stan Scott scored 18 on 7-of-11 from the field, while pulling down 15 rebounds. Winston Dessesow had 16 points on 4-of-5 from long-range and 6-of-9 overall, while Lawson Jenkins had 15 off the bench.
 
Rogers State (12-7, 6-7 MIAA) was led by Devin Pullup with 14 points.
 
The Lions got out to a 15-8 lead early on paced by eight points from Taggart through the first seven minutes of action and a three from Lawson Jenkins with 11 minutes left made the score 18-9 and forced a Hillcats' timeout.
 
An alley-oop from Alex Jones to Scott with 7:50 left pushed the Southern lead to 24-13, and a three from Jenkins with 2:30 to go gave the Lions a 13-point lead (38-25). A late bucket from Scott, as well as one from the Hillcats made the halftime score 42-31, Lions.
 
A bucket from Dessesow with 16:25 on the clock gave the Lions a 48-35 lead and a baseline bucket from Scott with 12:52 left made the score 57-35 Lions. A three from Dessesow with 7:25 to go pushed the lead to 21 (70-49), while a hook shot from Taggart with 3:55 to go pushed the lead to 79-53.
 
A layup from Odell Wilson with a minute to go made the score 84-57 and the Lions would cruise to the win.
 
The Lions shot 59 percent from the field and 59 percent from long range on the night. Southern had a 36-18 advantage in rebounds, including 9-2 on the offensive boards. The Lions had a 17-6 advantage in assists and a 32-22 lead in points in the paint.
 
Southern will be back in action on Saturday afternoon as the Lions play host to Northeastern State. Tip off from Robert Corn Court inside the Leggett & Platt Athletic Center is set for 3:30 pm.