Joplin, Mo. - The Missouri Southern men's basketball team returns home to take on the Northeastern State Riverhawks. The teams will meet on Wednesday, January 24 at the Leggett & Platt Athletic Center, tipping off at 7:30 PM.
Game Information
Teams: Missouri Southern (7-10, 5-6 MIAA) vs Northeastern State (6-11, 1-10 MIAA)
Date: January 24
Tip-Off: 7:30 PM
Location: Joplin, Mo.
Site: Leggett & Platt Athletic Center
Series Record: MSSU leads 29-19 | Southern has won eight of the past ten matchups.
Coaches
MSSU:
Sam McMahon | 2nd season at MSSU | 24-23 record
NSU: Ja Havens | 4th season at NSU | 39-57 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 currently has a 7-10 (5-6 MIAA) record in the 2023-24 season. They began the year with a split in their opening tournament, falling to MSU Moorhead who has spent time at the top of the national rankings, 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, Illinois Springfield taking the first game 96-77, and Drury holding 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. Closing out that series, the Lions fell on a last second shot to then-undefeated Missouri Western, 62-61. In their home conference opener, the Lions fell 73-63 to #3 nationally ranked Central Oklahoma. The Lions bounced back with a strong 99-77 win over Newman, shooting lights out in that contest, 58.3% from the field and 90.9% from the free throw line. They nearly picked up their second straight 20+ point win, taking down Central Missouri 75-56 in Warrensburg. Again, the Lions shot well, going 28-49 (57.1%) from the field as a team. To wrap up 2023, Missouri Southern fell to Lincoln at their house 76-65. Kicking off 2024, the Lions went to Pittsburg and ended the Gorillas' five-game win streak with an 81-74 victory. They started off hot against the Tigers of FHSU who are ranked second in the MIAA standings, but fell 85-67. Southern bounced back and had a solid offensive outing against Nebraska-Kearney, taking down the Lopers 88-78. Against a Washburn team that hasn't lost at home this year, the Lions shot nearly 50% from beyond the arc but fell 70-65. They picked up a big road win against once-ranked Emporia State on the road, 73-70.
Martin Macenis got his first start of the season on Sunday and made the most of it. He led the team with 17 points and 8 rebounds. On the year, he is averaging 10.3 ppg on 67.1% shooting (1st in MIAA).
Vinson Sigmon Jr. had a solid outing from deep, going 5-6 from beyond the arc against ESU. He is averaging 11.4 points per game and is shooting 85.7% from the free throw line.
Darius Dawson remains at the top of the team with 13.5 points per contest and 6.4 rebounds per game. He also has 20 blocks and 13 steals on the year.
Avery Taggart has been doing a mix of it all this year, but leads the Lions with 44 assists this season.
Scouting the Riverhawks
The Northeastern State Riverhawks enter Wednesday's contest at 6-11 (1-10 MIAA) on the 2023-24 season. They kicked things off with a 73-52 win over Northwestern Oklahoma but fell 63-61 to Mary. After that loss, NSU won three straight before opening conference play. The Riverhawks began conference play with eight straight losses, but defeated Newman 74-68 to end that streak. In that drought, NSU was edged 85-82 by UNK, 80-72 by RSU, and 72-67 by UCO. Since their win against Newman, NSU has fallen to Central Missouri by a score of 55-45, and Lincoln 63-49.
Anthony Allen leads the team in scoring, averaging 14.4 points per game on 58.4% shooting from the field. He also has 35 assists and 26 blocks.
Trey Quartlebaum is the other Riverhawk averaging double digits, scoring 11.0 points per contest with 34 assists and 16 steals this year.
Jaxon Jones leads the team in assists with 93, the second most in the MIAA. He is averaging 9.6 ppg, 4.5 rpg, and has 17 steals on the season.
Leading the team in rebounding is Ethan Blackmon who comes off the bench. So far this year, he has snagged 97 rebounds for an average of 5.7 per contest.
The Missouri Southern men's basketball season is presented by Arvest Bank, a proud supporter of Lion Athletics.
