Topeka, Kan. - The Missouri Southern men's basketball team kicked off their next series Wednesday evening with a road trip against the Washburn Ichabods who have not lost at home this year, and are receiving votes in the national polls. In that contest, the Lions shot nearly 50% from three point range, going 14-30 as a team. Despite the sharp shooting from beyond the arc, the hosts held off Missouri Southern with a 70-65 final score. That loss drops MSSU to 6-10 (4-6 MIAA) on the year.
Nearly a minute into the game, the Ichabods broke the scoreless tie with a basket to take the first lead of the game.
Vinson Sigmon Jr. got MSSU going first, hitting a jumper in response to WU's score. After another Ichabod bucket, the teams were quiet until the 15 minute mark when Sigmon Jr. nailed a three to give the Lions their first lead of the game. Another few minutes later,
Darius Dawson made a three to make it 9-8 in favor of the hosts. They'd go on a run to extend their lead to 20-8.
At the 7:12 mark of the first half, MSSU began a run of their own thanks to an
Avery Taggart three.
Martin Macenis then hit a jumper, followed by two
Winston Dessesow three pointers.
Darius Dawson capped off the run, giving the Lions a 21-20 lead with 3:43 remaining in the period. In the final minutes, Macenis scored a couple more times, but the first half ended after a
Darius Dawson three in the final seconds. That score gave MSSU a 30-29 lead heading into the break.
Picking up where they left off,
Avery Taggart opened the second half with a pair of three's sandwiching a
Vinson Sigmon Jr. jumper to boost their lead to seven. The Ichabods used the next few minutes to flip the scene, taking a seven-point lead of their own with 12:05 remaining.
Winston Dessesow and
Avery Taggart then each made a three on back-to-back possessions.
For every Missouri Southern basket, Washburn seemed to have an answer.
Vinson Sigmon Jr. made a three just under the eight minute mark, but the Ichabods responded with one of their own. However, with 4:37 on the clock,
Winston Dessesow and
Darius Dawson made jumpers, followed by a Dessesow three to tie things at 58-58. Dawson later tied things again at 60, but Washburn would take the lead for the remainder of the game after that. Another three was made by Dessesow with 13 seconds on the clock, but clutch free throws by the hosts made the final score 70-65.
In his first game back since December 16,
Winston Dessesow dropped 19 points on 6-7 shooting from the field, and a perfect 5-5 from beyond the arc. He also added 4 rebounds, and an assist, steal, and block to his line.
Darius Dawson finished with 14 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2 steals.
Avery Taggart and
Vinson Sigmon Jr. each contributed 12 points. Taggart went 4-7 from deep with 5 rebounds. Sigmon Jr. led the team with 7 rebounds and 4 assists.
The team will be off for a few days, playing their next contest on Sunday, January 21. They'll face the Hornets of Emporia State at their place, starting at 3:30 PM.
The Missouri Southern men's basketball season is presented by Arvest Bank, a proud supporter of Lion Athletics.
