Joplin, Mo. – The Missouri Southern Men's Basketball team hosted their first home conference game against the Northeastern State University Riverhawks on Tuesday, December 17. The Lions returned from a first-half deficit with key points from
Martin Macenis,
Sam Thompson, and
Justin Duff. The Riverhawks would have key steals near the end of the game, retake the lead, and hold it for the 81-79 victory.
Missouri Southern (5-6, 1-2 MIAA) | Northeastern State (7-4, 2-1 MIAA)
Half 1: Missouri Southern 36 | Northeastern State 43
The Riverhawks surged out of the gate, taking an early 16-6 advantage.
Martin Macenis stepped up to halt their momentum with a clutch shot from deep. Moments later, layups by
Justin Duff and
Tyrique Brooks chipped away at the lead, narrowing the score to 18-13. Over the next ten minutes, the teams traded baskets in a back-and-forth battle. The Lions gradually clawed their way back with contributions from
Jaden Taylor,
Sam Thompson,
Jamari Lawrence, Macenis, and Brooks.
With just under five minutes left in the half, Southern strung together a four-point rally, with key buckets from
Tyriqe Jackson and Taylor, cutting the deficit to just three points at 34-31. But Northeastern responded by hitting a jumper and a three-pointer to push their lead back to seven points heading into halftime.
Half 2: Missouri Southern 79 | Northeastern State 81
The battle raged on in the second half, with
Sam Thompson igniting a personal five-point run with a layup, a free throw, and a thunderous dunk to give the Lions a two-point lead at the 12-minute mark (54-52). Northeastern found a basket to break the Lion's run. But, Southern quickly countered with a 7-0 run, fueled by a
Jaden Taylor layup, a
Justin Duff three-pointer, and a
Martin Macenis layup, pushing their lead to seven-points (61-54) with 9:43 left to play. The game then turned into a back-and-forth exchange, with both teams trading baskets in a fierce fight for momentum.
A late 6-0 rally by the Riverhawks gave them a slim one-point lead (71-70) with just over three minutes remaining. Thompson responded by sinking two clutch free throws to reclaim a 72-71 advantage. Northeastern answered with another decisive 6-0 run to regain control and held on for an 81-79 victory.
Missouri Southern Leaders:
Scoring Leader: Martin Macenis – 20
Rebounding Leader: Tyrique Brooks – 9
Assist Leader: Martin Macenis - 9
Steal Leader: Martin Macenis /
Sam Thompson /
Justin Duff– 1
Northeastern State Leaders:
Scoring Leader: Ethan Blackmon – 29
Rebounding Leader: Ethan Blackmon - 11
Assist Leader: Bryson Smith - 8
Steal Leader: Trey Phipps - 3
Up Next:
The Lions will be back on Thursday, December 19, when they host the Avila University Eagles in a non-conference matchup. Tip-off is set for 6:00 PM.
