MSSU men play host to Pittsburg State today

(From MSSU Lions Athletic News)

The Missouri Southern men's basketball team will play host to Pittsburg State this Saturday. Tip off from Robert Corn Court inside the Leggett & Platt Athletic Center is slated for 3 pm. 

Game Information

Teams:               Missouri Southern (13-8, 7-5 MIAA) vs. Pittsburg State (4-16, 2-10 MIAA) 

Date: Saturday, February 4, 2017
Tip-Off: 3:00 pm
Location: Joplin, Mo.
Site: Robert Corn Court/Leggett & Platt Athletic Center (3,240)
Series Record: Southern leads 51-46
Coaches: Jeff Boschee (51-31 overall/at MSSU - 3rd year).  Kevin Muff (96-96/at PSU - 7th year)

Media Coverage

MSSU Radio: Mike McClure - Play by play - ESPN Joplin - 101.3, 103.5 FM, AM 1560 KXMS 88.7 FM
Internet Audio: www.mssulions.com
Live Video: www.mssulions.com
Live Stats: www.mssulions.com
Lions on Facebook:  Facebook.com/mososports
Lions on Twitter: @mososports; @mssumensbball

The Series

The Lions lead 51-46 in the all-time series with 21 wins in their last 36 tries vs. the Gorillas.  The Lions are 34-13 at home all-time vs. the Gorillas with wins in 11 of the last 14 home meetings. Southern is 15-31 at Pittsburg. Seventeen of the last 30 games between the two border rivals have been decided by seven points or less. The 97 games played between the two schools is the most played between any two schools in MSSU history. 

NCAA Individual Stat Leaders

CJ Carr is 17th nationally in total field goals attempted, while ranking 22nd in total steals and 24th in steals per game. Carr ranks 29th in total assists, 41st in assists per game, 42nd in total points and 47th in scoring. Elyjah Clark ranks 40th in total three pointers, and 46th in three point attempts.    

NCAA Team Stat Leaders

Southern ranks 17th in free throw percentage, while ranking 19th in free throws made. The Lions rank 26th in offensive rebounds per game, 24th in turnover margin. 49th in three point attempts, 48th in free throw attempts and 40th in scoring.     

MIAA Individual Leaders

Carr leads the MIAA in steals per game, total assists and total steals, while ranking second in assists per game and three point attempts and third in total field goals made and minutes. Elyjah Clark leads the MIAA in three point attempts, while ranking second in total threes made and third in three's per game. Lawrence Brown is second in offensive rebounds and third in total rebounds. 

MIAA Team Stat Leaders

The Lions lead the MIAA in scoring and offensive rebounds per game, while ranking second in three point attempts, free throws made, free throw percentage, total rebounds, total steals and turnovers forced. The team ranks third in free throw attempts, three pointers per game and turnover margin. 

Getting Offensive (About Boards)

The Lions lead the MIAA in offensive rebounds this year, averaging 13.5 offensive boards per game. That equates to 14.2 second-chance points a game.   

High-Scoring Freshman

Elyjah Clark is third on the team in scoring this year with 14.6 points per game and he ranks 11th in the MIAA in that category. However, he is the top-scoring freshman in the entire MIAA.  

Three Point Streak

The Lions failed to make a three-pointer at Arkansas Tech in their match-up in 2012-13. It was the first time in 403 games that Southern had failed to hit a three pointer, dating back to Jan. 20, 1999 against Missouri S&T. The Lions have had a three in 133-straight games since Arkansas Tech in 2012-13. 

High Scoring Affair

The Lions scored the second-highest points of the season against Randall when they scored 105 points. The 37-point margin of victory is the most since the Lions defeated Avila by 41 points in the 13-14 season (108-67). 

Game of Firsts

Against Arkansas Tech, the Lions scored 90 plus points and lost for the first time this year and just the second time under Jeff Boschee. They also allowed 100 plus points at home for the first time since the 2009 season.

New Starting Five

For the first time in program history (since joining the NCAA), the Missouri Southern men's basketball program started five entirely new players to the roster the first two games to the season this year. All five players in the starting lineup did not play last year at MSSU.  

Keep Em Low

The Lions held Lindenwood to just 55 points which is a season-low for any MSSU opponent. The 55 points are the lowest allowed in a single-game for Southern since 48 in the 2014-15 season against Benedictine and the lowest against an MIAA opponent since 54 against Northeastern State on Jan. of 2015. 

New School Record

The Lions set a new school record with 42 attempted three pointers against Missouri S&T. The mark surpassed the 34 set last season against Washburn. 

Home Sweet Home

Missouri Southern can count on some of the best fan support in Division II. The Lions rank 16th nationally in home attendance, averaging 1,376 fans per game. That number ranks fifth in the MIAA.

Three's Alive

The Lions tied a school record with 15 made three-pointers in a win against Northeastern State. It is the fifth time in school history to hit 15 treys in a game as the Lions did it against St. Gregory's in 2003, Missouri Western in 2009 and 2013, as well as Southwest Baptist in 2015. 

Single-game High

CJ Carr scored 47 points earlier in the year against Minnesota State. That point total is the fourth-highest single-game total in the NCAA this year and the second-highest in MSSU single-game history. 

Lions On The Radio 

The majority of the Lions games this season can be heard on the Missouri Southern Radio Network in Joplin. Partnering with ESPN Joplin, the Lions can be heard on 101.3 FM, 103.5 FM, 88.7 FM and AM 1560. 

Lions on TV

All Missouri Southern conference home games will be brought to you live this season courtesy of KGCS TV in Joplin. Fans can catch the action over the air live on Digital Channel 22 as well as on local cable systems. 

Up Next

The Lions will be back in the road as they travel to Southwest Baptist on February 9. Tip off from the Meyer Sports Center is slated for 7:30 pm.