Wichita, Kan. - The Missouri Southern men's basketball team was back on the road Thursday evening, taking on the Newman Jets. Earlier this year, the Lions defeated the Jets 99-77 in Joplin. A similar dominance occurred this time around, as MSSU picked up an 82-59 victory. That win improves Southern to 9-11 (7-7 MIAA) on the year.
The scoring kicked off with a three from
Avery Taggart, his first of five on the evening.
Martin Macenis made a layup on MSSU's next possession, followed by another Taggart three to give the Lions an 8-0 lead to start the game. Newman got on the board with a three, but Macenis responded quickly with a three of his own. At the 15:10 mark,
Darius Dawson scored three points in his own fashion, making a layup while getting fouled and making the free throw.
After Taggart made his third three of the first half, MSSU led 19-12 around the halfway point in the period. Newman began to fight back, then
Winston Dessesow made a three. The Jets ended up taking the lead late, but the Lions went on a run to take back over.
Darius Dawson scored eight in a minute of play on two made three pointers and a dunk.
Parker Long also had a three, and
Martin Macenis scored a layup to take a 36-30 lead into the break.
The hosts came out hot, erasing their deficit and taking the lead. Southern then went on an 11-0 run to regain the lead. That run featured a mix of scorers, five points coming from
Vinson Sigmon Jr. Around the 14 minute mark,
Avery Taggart scored another three to build the lead to double digits.
Vinson Sigmon Jr. drained a three around the halfway point of the second half, making it a 65-47 score. He also made a pair of free throws before things were quiet for a while. That silence by both squads was broken by
Winston Dessesow who scored 11 straight by himself.
Justin Duff made a three in the final minute, creating an 82-59 final score.
Darius Dawson and
Avery Taggart led both teams with 17 points scored. Dawson was one rebound shy of a double-double and went 6-9 from the field. Taggart made 5 three point field goals and had 4 assists and 2 rebounds.
Martin Macenis went 5-7 from the field for 13 points, recording 4 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 block, and 1 steal.
The team continues their road trip on Saturday with a contest against the Bronchos of Central Oklahoma. Tip-off for that game is scheduled for 3:30 PM.
The Missouri Southern men's basketball season is presented by Arvest Bank, a proud supporter of Lion Athletics.
