Joplin, Mo. - The Missouri Southern men's basketball rounded out their home schedule for 2023 Saturday afternoon, taking on the Newman Jets. The team put on a shooting clinic to take down the Jets, 99-77. With the victory, MSSU improves to 3-7 (1-3 MIAA) on the early season.
Sam Thompson got the Lions going with a pair of free throws on their first possession. After grabbing the rebound on the other end,
Winston Dessesow nailed a three to make it 5-0 MSSU. The Jets responded back to tie the game at 9-9, but
Darius Dawson hit a three to give the Lions the lead again.
Martin Macenis and Dawson made another couple of jumpers to extend that lead.
Newman went on a short run, trailing by just one with 8:53 on the clock. After surrendering the lead to the Jets,
Parker Long hit a three on a pass from
Sam Thompson to take it back.
Avery Taggart hit a three a couple minutes later, followed by a
Martin Macenis jumper.
Cam Williams had a couple layups and a pair of free throws in the final few minutes, making the score 47-28 Missouri Southern at the half.
The Jets scored the first few points of the second half, but
Vinson Sigmon Jr. made five straight points in response. Macenis and Dawson then scored back-to-back buckets to push the lead to 22. At the 14:46 mark, Macenis found
Tyriqe Jackson who slammed it home for the first of four dunks on the afternoon. He recorded his second a couple minutes later.
After an and-one play by the Jets,
Cam Williams hit a three to give the Lions a 24-point lead with just under 10 minutes left. Things kept clicking for the Lions, pushing their lead to 25 a couple of times in the final few minutes.
Martin Macenis recorded a pair of blocks in the final seconds, keeping the score at 99-77 MSSU for the final.
As a team, the Lions shot 58.3% from the field, and went 20-22 from the free throw line.
Martin Macenis was perfect on the afternoon, going 7-7 from the field and 3-3 from the free throw line, recording 17 points. He also had 8 rebounds, 8 assists, and 3 blocks.
Vinson Sigmon Jr. also had 17 points, and
Darius Dawson finished with 13.
Cam Williams had 16 points with 4 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals, and a block.
The Lions will hit the road next for their final series before Christmas. They will face the Central Missouri Mules on Thursday, December 14 and the Lincoln Blue Tigers on Saturday, December 16. Game times are scheduled for 7:30 PM and 3:00 PM respectively.
The Missouri Southern men's basketball season is presented by Arvest Bank, a proud supporter of Lion Athletics.
