Blaine Miller (pictured) scored 19 points and the Missouri Southern men's basketball team led by 15 in the first half, but Division I Missouri State chipped back at the score and a running jumper from the Bears lifted MSU over the Lions 68-66 in exhibition action at JQH Arena tonight.
Southern trailed 5-3 early on, but a jumper from Miller tied the game and the Lions went on a 12-1 run to open up a 15-6 lead after a jumper from Greg Renfroe at the 15 minute mark of the game. The Lions' lead was 11 after a three from Miller with 13:43 to go and after the Bears cut the lead to seven (22-15) the Lions opened up a 15-point advantage (33-18) after a three from Taylor Luster with 6:38 to go.
The lead was again 15 (38-23) this time after another three from Miller and the lead would be 13 at the half after Greg Renfroe hit a shot from just inside the three-point line as time expired.
A three from Miller with 17:06 to go in the second half gave the Lions a 14-point lead and a jumper from Charlie Brown as time expired on the shot clock kept the Lions' lead at 14 with 14:26 to go in the game.
It was then where the Bears made their move. A three from Marcus Marshall with ten minutes to go cut the Lions' lead to just five (55-50) and a layup from Ron Mvouika with 4:36 to go cut the lead to just one at 61-60. A jumper from Camyn Boon and another jumper from Mvouika gave MSU a 64-61 lead with 3:13 to go in the game. A pair of free throws from Christian Kirk with 1:50 to go in the game gave the Bears a three-point lead again but a three-point play from Cameron Cornelius with 1:36 left to go tied the game at 66.
MSU would call their final two timeouts of the game sandwiched between a missed three from Marshall. The Bears turned the ball over with 50 seconds to go but Taylor Luster's shot was no good, giving the Bears the ball with just 35 seconds to go. Marshall would hit the running jumper with 2.9 seconds left and a last-second shot by the Lions would not fall.
Southern was led offensively by Miller with 19 points on 8-9 from the field and 3-4 from long range. He added five rebounds and a block. Greg Renfroe had 12 points and nine boards, while Taevaunn Prince scored ten and added five rebounds.
The Lions shot 47 percent from the field and 35 percent from long-range, but hit just 50 percent of their free-throws. They had a 30-24 advantage in the paint and scored 16 second-chance points with ten points coming in fast break situations.
Southern will start the regular season next weekend as the Lions travel to Sioux Falls, SD for a matchup with Northern State and Sioux Falls in the Sanford Pentagon Tipoff Classic.
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