Wednesday, March 1, 2017

Southern men open MIAA tourney against Fort Hays State

(From MSSU Lions Athletic News)
Joplin, Mo. -- The fourth-seeded Missouri Southern men's basketball team will open up the 2017 MIAA Basketball Tournament facing off with fifth seeded Fort Hays State on Thursday. Tip off from Municipal Auditorium is slated for 8:30 pm.

Game Information
Teams: Missouri Southern (17-11) vs. Fort Hays State (18-10)
Date: Thursday, March 4, 2017
Tip-Off: 8:30 pm
Location: Kansas City, Mo.
Site: Municipal Auditorium (7,316)
Series Record: Fort Hays leads 30-19
Coaches: Jeff Boschee (55-34 overall/at MSSU - 3rd year). Mark Johnson (322-148 overall/at FHSU)

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

Fort Hays holds a 30-19 advantage over the Lions. Prior to the 2007-08 season, all of the games came when both teams were in the CSIC. Hays had won five in a row, before the Lions defeated the Tigers in the first-round of the 2014 NCAA Central Regional. The Tigers have had two separate streaks of five wins in a row. Southern dropped seven straight games from 1982 to 1985. The largest margin of victory for the Lions came on two consecutive games on Feb. 18, 1977 and Feb. 3, 1978 when Southern defeated the Tigers by identical 15 point margins. The largest margin of victory for the Tigers came in the 1987-88 season when Hays defeated Southern twice by the margins of 26 and 44 points. At home, Southern is 14-8 against the Tigers. The Lions are 4-18 in Hays and are 1-4 in neutral site games.
NCAA Individual Stat Leaders
CJ Carr is 17th in Division II total field goal attempts, while ranking 19th in both total steals and total assists. He ranks 23rd nationally in assists per game, while ranking 26th in total minutes and 31st in steals per game. Elyjah Clark ranks 33rd and 35th nationally in three point attempts and makes, respectively.
NCAA Team Stat Leaders
Southern ranks 24th in turnover margin, while ranking 31st in free throw percentage, 39th in offensive rebounds, 44th in free throws made, 47th in turnovers per game and 52nd in three point attempts.
MIAA Individual Leaders
Carr leads the MIAA in assists per game, steals per game, total assists, total field goal attempts, total minutes and total steals this year, while ranking third in minutes per game and sixth in scoring. Clark leads the MIAA in three point attempts and three pointers made, while ranking second in three pointers per game. Lawrence Brown is second in offensive rebounds, while ranking third in total rebounds.
MIAA Team Stat Leaders
The Lions lead the MIAA in scoring, offensive rebounds per game and total rebounds. The team ranks second in three point attempts, free throw percentage, and total steals, while ranking third in free throws made, three pointers per game, total three pointers made, total assists, total blocks, turnover margin and turnovers forced.
All-MIAA
The Lions had four players earn All-MIAA recognition this season. CJ Carr was a second-team selection, while JJ CratitLawrence Brown and Elyjah Clark earned honorable-mention All-MIAA.
Freshman of the Year
Elyjah Clark was named the MIAA Freshman of the Year this week. His is the sixth Lion in the history of the program to earn that honor, joining Carlos Newberry (96-97), Carlos Escalera (99-00), Skyler Bowlin (07-08), Jason Adams (08-09), and Marquis Addison (10-11).
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 140-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 only 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.
Chasin' A Record
Elyjah Clark is currently second all-time in single-season three pointers made with 82. He sits just six away from tying the mark Austin Wright had last year with 88.
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 15th nationally in home attendance, averaging 1,487 n fans per game. That number ranks fifth in the MIAA.
MIAA Tournament
Missouri Southern has qualified for the MIAA Tournament for the 20th-straight season.
Super Tuesday
Southern is a perfect 3-0 this season and 4-0 in head coach Jeff Boschee's tenure when playing on Tuesday's.
Feeling Generous
CJ Carr set a new MSSU single-game record for assists against Pittsburg State with 16 in the game. The mark broke Eddin Santiago's mark of 15 set in 2000. The 16 assists are also the most in a single game in Division II this year.
Taking Down The Best
With the win against Northwest Missouri, the Lions took out a No. 1 ranked opponent for the first time since the 1999-2000 season when Southern defeated Florida Southern in the Elite Eight.
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
With a win, Missouri Southern will play the winner of the Northwest Missouri - Lincoln University game at 2:30 on Saturday afternoon.

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