Sunday, November 12, 2023

MSSU men's basketball home opener Monday against Central Christian College


(From MSSU Athletics)

The Missouri Southern men's basketball team returns from their season opening tournament in Kansas City this past weekend to host their home opener Monday evening. With a 7:00 PM tipoff, the Lions will play host to the Central Christian College Tigers.

Game Information

Teams: Missouri Southern (1-1) vs Central Christian College (2-3)
Date: November 13
Tip-Off: 7:00 PM
Location: Joplin, Mo.
Site: Leggett and Platt Athletic Center
Series Record: MSSU leads 1-0 | 89-44 final score on 11/26/22

Coaches
MSSU: Sam McMahon | 2nd season at MSSU | 18-14 record
CCC: Tony Romero | 15th season at CCC | 230-201 record








Media Coverage
MSSU Radio: Mike McClure - Play by play - SOMO Sports Radio - 101.3 FM / 1560 AM
Live Audio/Video/Stats - https://www.mssulions.com/coverage
Lions on Facebook: Facebook.com/mssumbb
Lions on Twitter: @mssumensbball; @mososports
Lions on Instagram: @mssumensbball

Scouting the Lions
Missouri Southern split their opening tournament with Minnesota State Moorhead and Bemidji State, giving them a 1-1 start to the year. On Friday, the Lions fell 99-81 to MSU Moorhead, the 2022-23 NSIC tournament champions. The next afternoon, MSSU bounced back with a 69-61 victory over Bemidji State.

Darius Dawson recorded the team's first double-double of the year against Bemidji State, recording 16 points and 10 rebounds. Heading into Monday's contest, Winston Dessesow is one point shy of 1,000 in his career. He also jumped to 5th in career three point field goals made.

Scoring is currently led by Darius Dawson with 13.5 points per game, with Cam Williams right behind at 13.0 per contest. Dawson also leads the Lions with 9.0 rebounds per game, and blocks with 3 total. Several Lions have two steals this year, Dawson, Dessesow, and Williams, and Vinson Sigmon Jr. has a team-high seven assists on the year.

Scouting the Tigers
The Central Christian College Tigers enter Monday's contest with a 2-3 record in 2023-24. To begin the year, the Tigers faced Southwestern College where they fell to the Builders 80-69 on the road. In their home opener, CCC nearly hit the century mark with a strong 97-73 victory over Kansas Christian College. Their other win this year came the following game against Manhattan Christian College, 81-61. Following that win, the Tigers have lost two straight, the first to McPherson College 65-79, and the second to Manhattan Christian at their place, 78-74.








Leading the Tigers is head coach Tony Romero. A few years ago, Romero hit 200 wins with the program, now holding a 230-201 record at CCC. His roots run deep in McPherson, as Romero started four years for the Tigers from 2000-04.

In their brief season, the Tigers are led in scoring by Chris Whitten, averaging 20.0 points per game. A couple more are averaging double digits in the scoring column, Omari Maulana (14.2) and Jevarrick Butler (12.4). Butler is also averaging 7.2 rebounds per game, just behind Andre Shelby with a team-high 7.6 rebounds per contest. Additionally, Shelby leads the team with 12 steals, 12 assists, and 7 blocks.

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