Joplin, Mo. - The Missouri Southern men's basketball team was back home Thursday evening, hosting the #3 nationally ranked Central Oklahoma Bronchos in their first MIAA contest at home. The Lions fell 73-63 to the Bronchos, moving to 2-7 (0-3 MIAA) on the year.
MSSU's first points were scored by
Vinson Sigmon Jr., draining a shot as the shot clock expired to give the Lions a 2-0 lead.
Winston Dessesow later hit a three to boost that lead to 5-2. The Bronchos responded to take the lead, but the Lions hung with them. Down 12-9,
Avery Taggart was fouled while shooting a three, and made all three free throws to tie things up. Nearly two minutes later,
Martin Macenis made a layup to give Southern the lead once again.
UCO scored a couple back-to-back, but
Parker Long hit a jumper to tie things again. With 3:44 left in the half, the Bronchos held a 24-18 lead.
Darius Dawson got in on the scoring with a basket from Macenis, and
Vinson Sigmon Jr. hit another pull up jumper to get within two. After a couple Bronchos free throws,
Winston Dessesow hit a jumper to keep it a two-point game. Central Oklahoma scored a few more before the break, creating a 31-25 score at halftime.
The Bronchos came out firing in the second half, nailing a three to open the period. They quickly extended their lead to 13, but
Vinson Sigmon Jr. made a three of his own in response. After the deficit was pushed to 16,
Avery Taggart made a jumper followed by a
Martin Macenis three. Again the Bronchos fought ahead, but
Cam Williams scored five straight and Macenis hit a free throw to bring the score to 52-42 with just over 10 minutes left to play.
Soon after,
Martin Macenis hit a pair of layups, followed by a free throw, cutting UCO's lead to eight. Although the Bronchos pushed their lead back to 18, the Lions still had some fight in them. Southern went on a 13-3 run over the next couple of minutes to make it an eight point game once again.
Vinson Sigmon Jr. had six of those points, and
Avery Taggart had five. UCO made another couple of free throws for a 73-63 final in their favor.
Vinson Sigmon Jr. led the team with 19 points, missing just two shots all night.
Martin Macenis recorded a career-high 15 points, adding 6 rebounds, 2 assists, and 2 blocks to his stat line.
Avery Taggart recorded 10 points, and
Darius Dawson hit double digits in the rebounding category with 10.
The team will complete their MIAA home opening series on Saturday as they play host to the Newman Jets. Tipoff for that contest is scheduled for 3:30 PM at the Leggett & Platt Athletic Center.
The Missouri Southern men's basketball season is presented by Arvest Bank, a proud supporter of Lion Athletics.
