Pittsburg, Kan. –  The Missouri Southern men's basketball team had four players in double-figures and the Lions finished the Pittsburg State Classic 2-0 after defeating Quincy 74-68 tonight inside John Lance Arena.
 
Southern (2-2) was led by Avery Taggart with 18 points, four rebounds and four assists, while Tyriqe Jackson and Sam Thompson had 12 points each. Jackson and Thompson added eight and seven rebounds each.
 
Parker Long scored 11 points and added four rebounds and five assists, while Christian Bundy had seven rebounds and Ndongo Ndaw scored nine points.
 
Quincy (2-3) was led by Zion Richardson with 16 points, while Jamaurie Coakley and Paul Zilinskas scored 12 and ten points each.
 
Southern opened an 11-2 lead early on, but the Hawks tied the game at 11 only to see the Lions go on a 12-0 run of their own to lead 23-11 after a jumper from Long with 7:52 to go in the half.
 
The Hawks got within six (27-21) but four-straight from the Lions gave Southern a 32-21 lead. A three from Tyriqe Jackson pushed the lead to 13 (39-26) with 34 seconds left and a late three from Quincy gave the Lions a 10-point halftime lead.
 
A pull-up jumper from Taggart with 16 minutes left in the game gave the Lions a 46-35 lead and a layup from Jackson pushed the lead to 13 (48-35) with 15 minutes left. A freebie from Vinson Sigmon Jr. gave the Lions a 54-38 lead with 11:24 on the clock and a jumper from Jackson made the score 64-55, Lions with 3:30 to go.
 
The Hawks got within four (64-60) with just under two minutes to go but Taggart nailed a three the next possession down to give the Lions a 67-60 lead. Sigmon hit a layup on the next possession to extend the lead to nine (69-60) with 1:17 on the clock, but the Hawks got back within four (72-68) after a three from Richardson. A pair of freebies from Sigmon sealed the game.
 
Southern shot 50 percent from the field in the game and held a 41-26 advantage in rebounds. Southern had a 12-5 advantage in offensive rebounds, leading to an 11-0 lead in second-chance points.
 
The Lions will be back in action this Monday when Southern plays host to Tabor College. Tip off from the Leggett & Platt Athletic Center is set for 7 pm Monday.