It was a very tough season opener for the Lions basketball team, which fell short at Missouri State University, 53-89.
MSU has not lost a non-conference home game since November 2005, and their victory over the Lions is the latest in a 19-game home-court streak that began last season. Lion Head coach Jim Yarborough knew the team had a tough opener this season and hopes his team will find their footing as they go along.
“We were hoping to play with better consistency,” said Head Coach, Jim Yarbrough. “We played a very good Missouri team on opening night. We’re hoping that we can regroup and learn, but we need to spend some time working and playing together.”
The Lions (0-1) never took the lead, trailing by six before scoring their first basket. The Lions narrowed the deficit to three with 10:50 remaining in the first half, 14-11, but Missouri quickly responded with 14 unanswered points.
With the score 44-19 at the half, the Lions seemed to find momentum. A dunk by junior Devonte Upson with 17:30 remaining in the game narrowed the deficit 9-8 at the point of the half. However, Missouri’s was quick to widen the gap once again.
While the team did suffer a defeat, Yarbrough sees a silver lining.
“One thing about playing a team like this is it can expose your early team weaknesses,” said Yarbrough. “We believe we have a good bit of abilities and by the time we step out on the court we will improve and get better.”
Junior guard transfer JaMichael Hawkins led the Lions with 14 points and tied senior Dre Evans with four assists. Senior guard Jeffery Ricard chipped in nine points while Evans and Upson added eight points each. Upson led the team with five rebounds.
Southeastern shot just under 34 percent from the floor (21-of-62) and hit one-quarter (7-of-28) of its three-point attempts. The Lions only made a couple of trips to the charity stripe, converting four of six opportunities.
The Lions will face the Rice University Owls on Tuesday, Nov. 12 at 7 p.m. in Houson, Texas. The Lions will return home on Thursday evening to battle against Champion Baptist at 7 p.m. in the University Center.
The schedule and more information on the team can be found online at www.lionsports.net.