Southern men drop close battle with Emporia

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Sam McMahon has talked a lot about his basketball team’s defense during the 2024-25 campaign. For a four-minute stretch starting at the 10-minute mark of the second half, it looked like the Lions had settled in defensively.

But, the final six minutes of Saturday’s game at Missouri Southern State University saw the Lions allow Emporia State to score 24 points as it went on to claim a road win over MSSU 83-74.

“We cut it to 2 or 3 and our zone got us there. Our zone has been pretty good the past couple games. But, when you play it every possession, teams figure it out,” McMahon said. “We had to switch to man (defense). Our man has to get better.”

He noted that his team struggles when defense’s kick the ball out of the inside to open shooters. McMahon believes his guys close out late and that leaves an opportunity for open 3-pointers and even a chance for the opposing offense to fake and drive by to get into the lane.

This game could have swung the opposite direction with just three-to-five more stops by MSSU in the final six minutes of action.

“Just make sure guys bring the intensity late in the game, especially, because that’s when it’s most important,” MSSU freshman Tyrique Brooks said.

“Staying disciplined through fatigue,” is a key to getting those late stops, Jaden Taylor said.

The Lions (10-12, 5-8 MIAA) trailed for the majority of the game but played close. It was 37-31 at halftime in favor of the Hornets (8-15, 5-9 MIAA). The Lions were behind 52-38 early in the second half and chipped away some to face a 59-47 deficit around the 10-minute mark.

It looked like the home team might be poised for a comeback in the last 10 minutes of the game as it mounted a 10-0 run to make it 59-57. The run started when Tyrone Wright leaped in the air to collect a missed 3-pointer by Justin Duff and he slammed it back home to make it 59-49.

Taylor came down the next possession and got a layup to go. Tyrique Brooks put a floater in, Tyriqe Jackson made a layup and Taylor capped the run with…

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Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/southern-men-drop-close-battle-233300828.html

Author : The Joplin Globe, Mo.

Publish date : 2025-02-10 23:33:00

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