Joplin, Mo. - The Missouri Southern men's basketball heads to Kansas City, Missouri for the 2024 MIAA Tournament. The Lions secured the 8 seed and will take on the 9 seed in Missouri Western. That contest is the first game on the men's side, scheduled for a 6:00pm start on Wednesday, March 6. Winner of that game will face the 1 seed in Northwest Missouri.            

Game Information
Teams: Missouri Southern (13-15, 11-11 MIAA) vs Missouri Western (16-12, 10-12 MIAA)
Date: March 6
Tip-Off: 6:00 PM
Location: Kansas City, Mo.
Site: Municipal Auditorium
Series Record: MSSU leads 56-49 | Southern fell on a last second shot 62-61 earlier this year

Coaches
MSSU: Sam McMahon | 2nd season at MSSU | 30-28 record
MWSU: Will Martin | 4th season at MWSU | 57-56 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 record of 13-15 (11-11 MIAA) 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. Following that loss, the Lions defeated Rogers State by 22 points and Newman by 23 points. Missouri Southern battled with Central Oklahoma at their place, but fell 65-61. 

The team had a solid week against LU and UCM, recording a perfect week for the first time this season. Following that week, the Lions took down Pittsburg State for the second time this year, 75-72. They started their final road trip of the regular season with a 73-55 win over UNK, led by a Darius Dawson double-double. In their final road contest of the regular season, the Lions fell in overtime to #14 FHSU 67-65. Their second meeting with Washburn went down to the wire, as the Ichabods made a three in the last seconds to seal a 77-72 win. The top-seeded Bearcats of Northwest Missouri took the final game of the regular season, 73-56.

Darius Dawson continues to lead the team with 14.3 points and 6.5 rebounds per game. From the field, he is shooting 55.4% (143-258) and has 31 blocks. 

Martin Macenis has upped his points per game to 11.7 and is grabbing an average of 4.6 rebounds per contest. From the field he is shooting 58.4% and has dished 43 assists and made 15 blocks.

Vinson Sigmon Jr. is averaging 12.1 points per game, shooting 86.4% from the FT line, and leads the team with 33 steals. He has also made 39 three point FG. 

Avery Taggart made another 3 three's on Wednesday, and is averaging 11.0 ppg this season. He has made a team-high 58 three-point field goals and 74 assists.

Scouting the Griffons
The Missouri Western Griffons earned the 9 seed in the MIAA Tournament, finishing the regular season with a 16-12 (10-12 MIAA) record. They started the year on a hot streak, winning their first 8 contests, including a buzzer-beating shot to defeat Missouri Southern 62-61. Following their victory over MSSU, MWSU suffered their first loss to Nebraska-Kearney 93-90. They dropped their next as well, falling 73-49 to Fort Hays State. Although they had some ups and downs over the remainder of the season, they picked up big wins against #15/19 Emporia State (76-54), #14/15 Northwest Missouri (76-70), and (RV) Central Oklahoma (57-56). All three of those upsets were played on MWSU's home court in St. Joseph. In their regular season finale, the Griffons fell in double overtime to Pittsburg State, 86-83.

The Griffons are led by JaRon Thames who has been named the MIAA Player of the Week once this season. On the year, Thames is averaging 15.0 points on 49.4% shooting from the field, and is snagging 6.0 rebounds.

Taye Fields is almost averaging a double-double with 12.4 points and 9.5 rebounds per contest. He is shooting 51.9% from the field, and leads the team with 106 assists. Additionally, he has 26 blocks and 29 steals.

Zion Swader and Julius Dixon are the other starters also averaging more than 10 points per game. 

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