Edmond, Okla. – A running jumper from Winston Dessesow with nine seconds left lifted the 21st ranked Missouri Southern men’s basketball team over Central Oklahoma, 75-76 inside Hamilton Field House.
Southern (1-0, 1-0 MIAA) was led in scoring by Cam Martin with a double-double 27 points and 10 rebounds, going 10-for-16 from the field. Dessesow hit five three-pointers en route to 21 points, adding four assists. Stan Scott scored 14 points on 6-of-9 from the field in 31 minutes off the bench.
Central (0-1, 0-1 MIAA) was led in scoring by Cam Givens with 27 points, going 11-of-13 from the free throw line. Justin Nimmer added 11 points.
Southern jumped out to a 9-6 lead at the 14:56 minute mark of the first half as Scott converted a turnover and his own steal to points before the first media timeout. A three from Avery Taggart with 11:41 left in the half gave the Lions a 16-12 lead and after the Bronchos had gone up 19-17, a three from Dessesow with 8:29 left put the Lions back on top 20-19.
The Bronchos took a 27-25 lead with 4:50 to go in the half, but a three from Martin with 3:35 left gave the Lions a 28-27 lead. A three from Dessesow the next trip down pushed the lead to 31-27, but a 7-2 run from the Bronchos put UCO up 34-33 with 44 seconds to go. Another three from Dessesow, his third of the half, put Southern back on top 36-34 at the break.
Southern led by seven (46-39) after a bucket from Martin with 16:44 to go in the second half, and after the Bronchos got within a bucket, Dessesow hit his fourth three of the game to make the score 49-44 with just under 15 minutes to go. A dunk from Martin followed by a layup the next trip down gave the Lions a 53-44 lead with 13:40 to go.
Martin hit a three with 9:43 left that pushed the lead to seven (59-52) and a jumper from Dessesow with 9:18 left kept the lead at seven (61-54) after a bucket from UCO the prior trip down. A bucket from Scott with 8:22 left gave the Lions their largest lead of the game at 63-54 and forced a UCO timeout.
A 9-0 run from the Bronchos tied the game at 63 with 5:20 left to play, but a pair of free throws after a huge block and rebound on the defensive end for Scott, stopped the run and gave the Lions a 65-53 lead with 4:05 to go.
The Bronchos went up for the first time in the half after a three-point play from Callen Haydon the next trip down made the score 66-65. A three-point play for UCO on its next possession gave the Bronchos a 69-65 lead with just more than three to go.
A three from Dessesow, his fifth of the game, got the Lions within one (69-68) the next trip down, but a pair of free throws from the Bronchos and a fast-break bucket the next trip down gave UCO a 73-68 lead with 1:19 to play.
A jam and a free throw from Martin cut the lead to two and a jam from Scott after a defensive stop tied the game at 73 with 56 seconds left. A free throw from the Bronchos put UCO up 74-73 with 37 seconds left and the Lions called a timeout. After the timeout, a jumper from Dessesow with nine seconds left proved to be the game-winner.
The Lions shot 46 percent from the field and 41 percent from the three-point line, but trailed the Bronchos 40-34 in rebounds.
Southern will be back in action this Saturday as the Lions travel to Newman for a 3:30 pm tip-off against the Jets in Wichita.
