Joplin, Mo. - The Missouri Southern men's basketball team will play host to Rogers State on Saturday. That contest is scheduled to tip-off at 3:30pm at the Leggett & Platt Athletic Center.      

Game Information
Teams: Missouri Southern (7-11, 5-7 MIAA) vs Rogers State (11-7, 8-4 MIAA)
Date: January 27
Tip-Off: 3:30 PM
Location: Joplin, Mo.
Site: Leggett & Platt Athletic Center
Series Record: MSSU leads 5-2

Coaches
MSSU: Sam McMahon | 2nd season at MSSU | 24-24 record
RSU: Justin Barkley | 14th season at RSU | 261-140 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 7-11 (5-7 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, but fell to Northeastern State in Joplin.

Darius Dawson continues to lead the team with 12.7 points per contest and 6.3 rebounds per game. He also has 20 blocks and 13 steals on the year.

Martin Macenis has been in the starting rotation, shooting 65.8% from the field. On the year, he is averaging 9.6 ppg and 4.3 rpg.

Vinson Sigmon Jr. enters Saturday's contest scoring 11.8 points per game, 33 assists, and 13 steals. He has also made 27 three point field goals this year. 

Avery Taggart has been doing a mix of it all this year, leading the Lions with 31 three's made and 49 assists. He is up to 10.2 points per game and 3.4 rebounds per contest.

Scouting the Hillcats
The Rogers State Hillcats enter Saturday's competition with an 11-7 (8-4 MIAA) record on the year. They suffered two losses in their opening tournament, the second game by just two points. Their first win came against Cameron, then followed with a pair of conference victories over UNK and FHSU. Emporia State handed RSU their first conference loss, then Washburn followed with another similar outcome. Over the break, the team played in Las Vegas, going 1-1 in that tournament. Their loss came against West Texas A&M 108-100 who was ranked #5 at the time. They picked up one more non-conference win before getting back in MIAA action. Although they started the new year 0-2 against MWSU and NWMSU, the team is currently riding a five-game win streak, featuring wins against #17 Central Oklahoma, Lincoln, and Pittsburg State.

The team is scoring the second-most points per game and has the second-best field goal percentage in the MIAA. However, they are giving up the highest field goal percentage in the league as well.

Isaac Johnson leads the Hillcats in scoring, averaging 15.0 per game. He also has 28 steals and 30 made three point field goals this year.

Kofi Hamilton is the team leader in the rebounding category, snagging 5.2 per contest. He also leads RSU with 8 blocks and is shooting 64.3% from the field.

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