Pittsburg, Kan. – The Missouri Southern Men's Basketball team traveled to take on the Pittsburg State University Gorillas. Both teams fought for control of the game and the Gorillas controlled the lead early in the second half. Southern chipped away at an 18-point deficit and seized a one-point victory.
Missouri Southern (8-6, 3-2 MIAA) | Pittsburg State (7-7, 3-2 MIAA)
Half 1: Missouri Southern 36 | Pittsburg State 42
Tyrique Brooks sparked a solo five-point run and gave the Lions an 11-8 lead. Brooks and
Martin Macenis combined for four-points to extend their advantage to 16-10 with 12:39 remaining. The Gorillas answered with an 11-0 run and took the lead at 21-16.
Both teams exchanged points in a back-and-forth battle. At the 2:16 mark, Macenis knocked down a three-pointer to trim the Gorillas lead to seven-points, 38-31. Pittsburg State held its advantage of six-points, 42-36, heading into halftime.
Half 2: Missouri Southern 81 | Pittsburg State 80
Tyrone Wright opened the Lions second-half scoring with a smooth jumper. The Gorillas responded with three consecutive three-pointers to build a 10-point lead, 51-41, with 17:08 remaining. The Lions chipped away at the Gorillas lead with three-pointers from
Tyrique Brooks and
Tyriqe Jackson, along with a layup from
Jaden Taylor, cutting the score to 65-53.
Wright sparked a 17-5 run, bringing Missouri Southern within one point of Pittsburg State (73-72) with key contributions from Taylor (four points),
Martin Macenis (nine points), and Brooks (three points). With 30 seconds left, Brooks hit a clutch three-pointer to give the Lions a two-point lead, 79-77. Taylor and Wright sealed the comeback victory for Southern with key free throws.
Missouri Southern Leaders:
Scoring Leader: Martin Macenis – 25
Rebounding Leader: Tyriqe Jackson - 8
Assist Leader: Isaiah Atwater - 5
Steal Leader: Tyrone Wright /
Justin Duff - 1
Pittsburg State Leaders:
Scoring Leader: Avery Taggart - 27
Rebounding Leader: Tane Prictor - 10
Assist Leader: Jordan Frison - 9
Steal Leader: Jordan Frison - 4
Up Next:
Men's Basketball will be back on Saturday, January 11 when they travel to take on the Newman University Jets. Tip-off is set for 3:30 PM.
-Lions-
