The Missouri Southern men's basketball team trailed by 16 at the break and couldn't overcome the early deficit, falling 91-65 to Pittsburg State in the finals of the 2015 MIAA Basketball Tournament Sunday inside Municipal Auditorium.
Southern (20-11) was led offensively by Austin Wright with 18 points. The junior went 5-9 from the field (5-8 from long range), and with the five three pointers, he set a new single-season MSSU three point record with 79 made three's. Wright set the single-game record earlier in the season and has 177 in his career, just one from third place overall and 47 from tying the all-time career mark.
Taevaunn Prince and Greg Renfroe had 11 points each, while Renfroe added five rebounds and three blocks. The three blocks for Renfroe gives him 62 on the season, which is second-best all-time in MSSU history.
Prince, along with Cameron Cornelius, were both named to the All-Tournament team.
Pitt (20-11) took an 8-4 lead at the 15:50 mark of the first half, but a 9-2 run by the Lions gave Southern a 13-10 lead with 13:25 to go after a three from Wright. Pitt answered back with a 17-2 run of its own and led 27-15, before a jumper from Cornelius stopped the run and cut the deficit to ten (27-17) with 6:26 to go in the half.
The Gorilla's lead reached 19 before a three from Wright as time expired made the halftime score 44-28.
Southern opened the second half on a 12-6 run and cut the lead to ten (50-40), but that would be as close as the Lions would get.
The Lions shot 48 percent from the field and 44 percent from long range. However, 18 Southern turnovers led directly to 24 points for PSU in the game.
The Lions will now await their fate as the NCAA Tournament bracket will be released later tonight. Fans can watch the selection show at 9:30 pm on ncaa.com.
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