The Missouri Southern men’s basketball team had five score in double-figures and rode a 31-point halftime lead en route to a 103-94 win on the road at Missouri Western on Thursday night.
Southern (11-7, 11-7 MIAA) was led offensively by Cam Martin as he scored 27 points and pulled down nine rebounds with a pair of blocks. Christian Bundy had 24 points and eight rebounds, going 9-of-12 from the field. Stan Scott had 15 points and six boards, while Winston Dessesow added 12 and Lawson Jenkins had 11.
Western (8-8, 8-8 MIAA) was led by 32 points from Tyree Carroll.
The Lions jumped out to a 9-0 lead after a layup from Scott four minutes into the game. A three from Martin with 14 minutes left made the score 16-2, while another three from Martin the next trip down made it 19-2.
A dunk from Bundy with 12:43 left made the score 23-4, while another dunk from Bundy made the score 26-4 with 10:43 to go and forced a Western timeout. A layup from Bundy with 8:18 on the clock increased the lead to 32-6, while a three from Dessesow increased the lead to 37-12, Lions with six minutes to go.
A jumper from Yagizhan Selcuk made the lead 30 (45-15) and a layup from Keryn Collins gave the Lions their biggest lead of the half at 49-17 with 2:25 to go. A jumper from Martin as the half was winding down made the halftime score 54-23.
Western started the second half like a different team. The Griffons scored 35 points in the first ten minutes of the second half, 12 more than they had the entire first half and cut the Lions’ led to 20 (78-58) with ten minutes left in the half.
A pair of free throws from Martin with five minutes left made the score 87-69, Lions, and despite the Griffons getting to within ten (93-83) late, Southern held on for the win.
The Lions shot 57 percent from the field, 41 percent from long range and 73 percent from the free throw line. Southern out rebounded Western 42-32 and led from start to finish. The Lions had a 58-30 advantage in the paint, and 21-12 in second-chance points.
The Lions will be back in action on Saturday when Southern travels to No. 3 Northwest Missouri Tip off from Bearcat Arena is set for 3:30 pm.
