St. Joseph, Mo. - The Missouri Southern men's basketball team wraps up their first conference series of the year on Saturday, December 2 with a contest against the undefeated Missouri Western Griffons. Game time for this contest was recently moved to 5:30 PM.
Game Information
Teams: Missouri Southern (2-5, 0-1 MIAA) vs (RV) Missouri Western (6-0, 1-0 MIAA)
Date: December 2
Tip-Off: 5:30 PM
Location: St. Joseph, Mo.
Site: MWSU Fieldhouse
Series Record: MSSU leads 56-48 | Southern has won 7 of the last 10 meetings
Coaches
MSSU:
Sam McMahon | 2nd season at MSSU | 19-18 record
MWSU: Will Martin | 4th season at MWSU | 48-44 record
Media Coverage
MSSU Radio: Mike McClure - Play by play - SOMO Sports - 101.3 FM and 1560 AM
Live Audio/Video/Stats - https://www.mssulions.com/coverage
Lions on Facebook: Facebook.com/mssumbb
Lions on Twitter: @mssumensbball; @mososports
Lions on Instagram: @mssumensbball
Scouting the Lions
Missouri Southern is off to a 2-5 start to the 2023-24 season. They began the year with a split in their opening tournament, falling to MSU Moorhead 99-81, but taking down Bemidji State 69-61. In their first home game, the Lions handled Central Christian 92-56. MSSU fell in both contests at the Double Tree Thanksgiving Classic last week. Illinois Springfield won the first game 96-77, and Drury held off Missouri Southern 76-70 in the second game. In their final non-conference contest of the season, the Lions fell to the Rockhurst Hawks. To begin conference play, MSSU nearly completed an upset bid over #15 Northwest Missouri on their court, but fell 78-74.
Vinson Sigmon Jr. had a career game against the Bearcats, scoring his 1,000th career point and career-high 24 in a single game.
Darius Dawson continues to lead the Lions in scoring, averaging 11.6 per game on 59.3% shooting from the field. He also leads the rebounding category with a total of 53, averaging 7.6 per game. On Thursday, Dawson nearly recorded his second double-double of the year, scoring 12 points and grabbing 8 rebounds.
Avery Taggart is the team leader in assists with 21, and
Cam Williams leads both the steals (11) and blocks (5) category.
Sam Thompson has also recorded 5 blocks this year.
Scouting the Griffons
The Missouri Western Griffons are off to a hot start in 2023-24, having yet to lose a contest. In their non-conference schedule, MWSU went 5-0 with upsets over #21 Northern State and William Jewell who was receiving votes at the time. So far, the Griffons and Lions have shared one opponent, the Rockhurst Hawks. Missouri Western defeated Rockhurst 92-76 on their home court. In their conference opener, the Griffons took down Pittsburg State 85-75, as five different Griffons scored double digits, three with 15+ points.
JaRon Thames is the team's leading scorer, averaging 18.7 points per contest on 61.3% shooting from the field. He has the team's second most rebounds at 36, and leads the team with 10 steals.
The team has had the same starting lineup for all six contests, and all five Griffons are averaging double digit points. Averaging nearly a double-double is 6-4 junior Taye Fields. Along with his 11.3 points per game, Fields is averaging 9.8 rebounds, and leads the team with 24 assists. Reese Glover comes off the bench, averaging 20.2 minutes per contest, and has made 11 three pointers this year.
The Missouri Southern men's basketball season is presented by Arvest Bank, a proud supporter of Lion Athletics.
