MSSU men's basketball opens six-game home stand tonight

(From MSSU Lions Athletic News)

The Missouri Southern men's basketball team will open up a six-game home stand tonight as the Lions play host to Baptist Bible. Tip off from Robert Corn Court inside the Leggett & Platt Athletic Center is slated for 7 pm

Game Information

Teams: (RV) Missouri Southern (5-1) vs. Baptist Bible (3-2)
Date: November 29, 2018
Tip-Off: 7:00 PM
Location: Joplin, Mo
Site: Robert Corn Court/Leggett & Platt Athletic Center (3,240)
Series Record: First ever meeting
Coaches: Jeff Boschee (81-46 overall/at MSSU - 5th year). Brett Palen

Media Coverage

MSSU Radio: Mike McClure - Play by play - Fox Sports Joplin - 101.3, 101.3 FM, AM 1560 KXMS 88.7 FM
Internet Audio: http://www.mssulions.com
Live Video: http://www.themiaanetwork.com/mssulions
Live Stats:https://mssulions.com/sidearmstats/mbball/summary
Lions on Facebook: Facebook.com/mososports
Lions on Twitter: @mososports; @mssumensbball

The Series

This is the first ever meeting between the two schools

NCAA Team Stat Leaders

The Lions, as a team, rank 13th in fewest turnovers per game, while ranking 25th in assist to turnover ratio. The Lions rank 32nd in overall fewest turnovers, while ranking 48th in scoring.

NCAA Individual Stat Leaders

Cam Martin ranks fourth in scoring nationally, while ranking eighth in field goal percentage, 22nd in total field goals made and 31st in total points. Reggie Tharp ranks 8th in assist to turnover ratio, while Elyjah Clark ranks ninth in minutes per game.

MIAA Team Stat Leaders

The Lions, as a team, lead the MIAA in fewest overall turnovers and rank second in assist to turnover ratio, fewest turnovers per game and three point defense. The team ranks third in fewest fouls, field goal percentage and fewest fouls per game, while ranking fourth in scoring.

MIAA Individual Stat Leaders

Cam Martin leads the MIAA in scoring and field goal percentage, while Reggie Tharp ranks second in assist to turnover ratio and steals. Kinzer Lambert ranks third in offensive rebounds, while Tharp is third in assists. Elyjah Clark leads the league in minutes per game.

Preseason No. 1

The Lions were picked number one in the MIAA Preseason Coaches Poll this season.

Strength of Schedule

Southern currently is ranked 7th in the Massey Division II College Basketball Ratings. The Lions have the second-best strength of schedule in Division II as far as future opponents remaining, meaning the Lions have the second-toughest schedule in D2.

Streak Stopper

Coming into the season Elyjah Clark had made a three pointer in 47-straight games, dating back to his freshman season. Clark, however, missed out on a three in the first game of the year, but has made a three in each game since, taking his current streak to five.

Cam You Score A Lot?

Cam Martin tied a MSSU single-game record with 49 points at Minnesota State. The mark tied Carl Tyler from 1984. Coincidently, in his first game as a Lion, former guard CJ Carr scored 47 points against the same Minnesota State team two years ago.

National Ranking

The Lions are receiving votes in both the NABC Preseason Poll the Media Poll. In the history of the NABC Poll, the Lions have been ranked 56 times, including 23 consecutive weeks. The team has been No. 1 once (in the 2011 season).

Coach of the Year

Jeff Boschee was named the 2018 MIAA Coach of the Year. Boschee has coached the Lions to a 20-win season for the second time in his four-year career. Last year, the Lions were picked to finish sixth in the preseason coaches poll and the Lions finished the season second overall with two wins over regular-season MIAA Champ Northwest Missouri.

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 180-straight games since Arkansas Tech in 2012-13.

Bomb's Away

Elyjah Clark tied the single-game MSSU record for three pointers in a game at Pittsburg State last year with nine. He went on to set the single-season record for three's with 110.

Bombs Away 2

The Lions broke the MSSU single-season record for threes by a team with 283 last season, breaking the previous record of 250.

Three's Company

The Lions shattered the previous MSSU school record for three pointers in a game against Randall last year as Southern made 20 three pointers against the Saints. The previous record of 15 was set in 2003 against St. Gregory's.

Home Sweet Home

Missouri Southern can count on some of the best fan support in Division II. Last season, the Lions ranked 12th nationally in home attendance, averaging 1,530 fans per game. That number was fourth in the MIAA.

Holy Points Batman

The Lions scored 110 points in a win over Randall. The 110 points were the most the team has scored since they scored 113 against Southwest Baptist in 2014.

Welcome Home

After six-straight games to start the season on the road, the Lions will return to the friendly confines of the Leggett & Platt Athletic Center to start a six-game home stand which will take the team through the end of December.

Overtime's A Charm

For the third-straight time, the Lions and Minnesota State needed overtime to settle the score. The Lions won 100-98 this year and have won two of the three overtime games in the last three years between the two teams.

Records Watch

Sophomore Elyjah Clark had the Missouri Southern single-season record for three pointers as a freshman with 89 and broke that record last year with 110. Clark has 217 career threes and is well over three-quarters to the career record of 265 set by Austin Wright.

Chasin' A Grand

Elyjah Clark went over 1,000 points in his career with 18 points against Minnesota-Crookston in the Puerto Rico Tournament. He currently has 1,009 in his career and is the 21st person in MSSU history to crack the 1,000 point plateau.

Player Of The Week

Cam Martin was the MIAA Player of the Week this past week after he averaged 20.3 points, 8.3 rebounds, and 1.7 blocks per game. Martin shot 76 percent from the field, 60 percent from long-range and 70 percent from the free throw line.

Hard-Workin' Man

Elyjah Clark ranks ninth nationally and leads the MIAA in minutes per game.

Elyjah For Three

Clark has the top-two single-season three-point totals in MSSU history and his 199 threes made in his two-year career rank fourth. His career three-point percentage of .425 is second-best all-time, while he also tied the single-game record for three's made with nine. He has the season and career record for three pointers per game, while also holding the MSSU season and career record for consecutive games with a three.

Lions On The Radio

The majority of the Lions games this season can be heard on the Missouri Southern Radio Network in Joplin. Southern is partnering with Fox Sports Joplin, the Lions can be heard on 101.3 FM, 101.7 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 home on Tuesday night against Truman State with a 5:30 pm tip off.