Joplin, Mo. - After a pair of road contests earlier this week, the Missouri Southern men's basketball team was back at home Saturday afternoon. They played host to the Rockhurst Hawks, who took the game by a score of 75-57. With the loss, the Lions drop to 2-4 (0-0 MIAA) on the year.
The Lions got off to a slow start in the game, trailing 8-0 early. From that point, they went on a run that gave them a 13-8 lead. In that run,
Avery Taggart drained the team's first three, and
Cam Williams threw down a dunk on the other end of an alley-oop from
Winston Dessesow. MSSU had a 14-10 lead at the 9:50 mark of the first half. Rockhurst then went on a run of their own, regaining the lead.
With 6:45 left on the clock, Taggart fed a nice pass to
Ibn Loyal who slammed it down for a dunk.
Avery Taggart scored seven of the team's points in the last few minutes, making the score 38-25 in favor of the Hawks at halftime.
Vinson Sigmon Jr. scored the first points of the second half, cutting the Rockhurst lead to 11.
Winston Dessesow then had five of his own, making a jumper followed by a three. The Hawks kept at it though, extending their lead as the half went on.
Justin Duff hit a couple three pointers, and
Lawson Jenkins had one of his own. On the final possession for MSSU,
Parker Long made a jumper to make the score 75-57 Rockhurst.
Avery Taggart led the Lions with 15 points and 3 assists, making a career-high 8 free throws in the game.
Sam Thompson had a team-high 8 rebounds and 2 blocks.
Conference play begins next for Missouri Southern, heading to Maryville and St. Joseph as they take on Northwest Missouri and Missouri Western on November 30 and December 2.
The Missouri Southern men's basketball season is presented by Arvest Bank, a proud supporter of Lion Athletics.
