Joplin, Mo. - The Missouri Southern men's basketball team returns to Joplin for their first home conference series of the 2023-24 season. First, the men will play host to the #3 team in the nation, Central Oklahoma. Last season, the Lions won two out of the three meetings, upsetting the then #4 and #6 ranked Bronchos in both regular season contests. 

Game Information
Teams: Missouri Southern (2-6, 0-2 MIAA) vs #3 Central Oklahoma (7-0, 2-0 MIAA)
Date: December 7
Tip-Off: 7:30 PM
Location: Joplin, Mo.
Site: Leggett & Platt Athletic Center
Series Record: MSSU leads 15-8 | Southern has won 6 of the last 10 meetings

Coaches
MSSU: Sam McMahon | 2nd season at MSSU | 19-19 record
UCO: Bob Hoffman | 5th season at UCO | 81-41 record

Media Coverage
MSSU Radio: Mike McClure - Play by play - 101.7 FM The Vault
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 2-6 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. Most recently, the Lions fell on a last second shot to undefeated Missouri Western, 62-61. 

Avery Taggart has been hot lately, scoring double digits in each of the past four contests. He leads the team with 24 assists, and has made 10 three pointers this year.  

Darius Dawson leads the Lions in scoring, averaging 11.8 per game on 60.0% shooting from the field. He has also been doing most of the rebounding, entering Thursday with a team-high 7.0 per contest. 

Cam Williams has the second-most points per game at 9.8, and leads the team with 14 steals.

Scouting the Bronchos
The Central Oklahoma Bronchos enter Thursday's competition with a clean 7-0 (2-0 MIAA) record. In both national polls, UCO is ranked #3. They began the season with a high-scoring, dominating victory over #25 Mercyhurst, 97-58. Following that tournament, the Bronchos won two low-scoring affairs, scoring 55 and 58 in those contests. Their two MIAA competitions were 10+ point victories, first against Central Missouri 75-62 and second against Lincoln 79-55. Three Bronchos scored 12 against the Blue Tigers, the victory coming as a collective effort. UCO is currently holding opponents to an MIAA-best 56.7 points per game.

Jaden Wells is doing most of the scoring for the Bronchos, having surpassed 130 points already this season. He is averaging 19.1 per game (2nd in MIAA), shooting 47.2% from beyond the arc (1st in MIAA).  

Danquez Dawsey is second on the team in scoring (11.0 ppg), but leads the MIAA in assists with 49 this year (7.0 per game). Luke Haasl is also averaging double digit points per game with 10.1, shooting 65.2% from the field. He leads the team in rebounds (6.3 per game) and blocks (9), and has 10 steals this year.  

The Missouri Southern men's basketball season is presented by Arvest Bank, a proud supporter of Lion Athletics.