Kansas City, Mo. - The Missouri Southern men's basketball team was up in Kansas City, Missouri Wednesday evening, kicking off the men's portion of the MIAA Tournament at Municipal Auditorium. As the 8 seed, the Lions took on the 9 seeded Griffons of Missouri Western in the first round. Missouri Western held on for a 62-56 win, ending Missouri Southern's season at 13-16 (11-11 MIAA).
The Griffons were the first on the board, but the Lions responded quickly as
Darius Dawson slammed a dunk down. Over the next few minutes, Missouri Southern would take their first lead as
Martin Macenis made a couple straight baskets. Missouri Western fought back for a 12-6 lead, but baskets from
Parker Long and
Winston Dessesow narrowed it to two.
After a good chunk of time, Dessesow made a big three to bring the Lions within four after the Griffons built their lead to eight.
Ibn Loyal hit a pair of free throws late in the period, but the Griffons scored the final point of the half, making it a 29-21 MWSU lead heading into the break.
Although Missouri Western made the first score of the second half to make it a 10 point game,
Darius Dawson scored two in a row, followed by a
Martin Macenis basket to cut it back to four. At the 13:45 mark, the Griffons took their largest lead of the game at 13, making it a 40-27 score.
Parker Long made a jumper, then
Winston Dessesow followed with another three to eat away at that deficit.
Later on,
Lawson Jenkins hit a pair of free throws, then
Vinson Sigmon Jr. converted on an and-one play to make it a six point game with 9:53 on the clock. Again the Griffons extended their lead to double digits, but the Lions still had some fight in them. Sigmon Jr. kept finding the basket, cutting the deficit to five with 3:10 remaining. In the final minute, the Griffons were able to break the Lion press to make it 60-53 with 12 seconds left, then
Avery Taggart nailed a deep three to cut it to four with six seconds on the clock. MWSU was able to make both free throws on the next possession ending in a 62-56 final score.
Vinson Sigmon Jr. nearly had a double-double, finishing with 17 points, 9 rebounds, and 4 steals.
Martin Macenis finished with 9 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists, and a steal.
Winston Dessesow had 8 points, hitting a couple three point field goals.
Winston Dessesow's 1,155 career points at MSSU ranks him 18th in school history. His 226 made and 627 attempted three point field goals puts him 3rd all-time in program history in both categories. Additionally, he played in 120 games for MSSU, tied for fourth most.
Shooting 84.7% from the free throw line this season,
Vinson Sigmon Jr. ties for 9th best in a single season in MSSU history. His career free throw percentage of 82.5% ranks him 6th in MSSU history.
So far in his career,
Avery Taggart has made 184 three point field goals, placing him 7th on the MSSU all-time list.
The Missouri Southern men's basketball season is presented by Arvest Bank, a proud supporter of Lion Athletics.
