The Missouri Southern Lions used a 22-4 run in the first four minutes of Wednesday night’s second half to pull away and hand the Truman men’s basketball team a 91-74 loss in Pershing Arena.
Senior Ethan Freeman recorded his 10th career double-double by leading the Bulldogs with 23 points and 10 rebounds.
Truman (2-3, 0-1 MIAA) led 36-35 with 59 seconds to go in the first half after a Tom Norton free throw, but five points in the final minute by MSSU’s (5-0, 1-0 MIAA) Skyler Bowlin sent the Bulldogs into the intermission down by four, 40-36.
From there, it was an all-out blitz to start the second half, as the Bulldogs turned the ball over seven times in the first five minutes, leading to 22 quick points and a 22-point lead for the Lions at 62-40.
Truman would pull to within 15 at 74-59 following a Freeman tip-in with 7:48 to play, but the Lions bounced back with a three-point play by Kevin Hinsey to push the margin back to 18, 77-59.
The score hovered around that spread for the remainder of the game, finishing with a Justin Strickland lay-up with 22 seconds to play for the 91-74 final.
Freeman went 11-for-12 from the charity stripe to help log his new career-high in points, and the Bulldogs as a team recorded a 22-for-25 mark from the free throw line.
Isaac Gardner (added 11 points, and Alex Henderson (Willard, Mo., Willard) reached double-figures for the fifth time in as many games this season with 10.
For the game, the ’Dogs shot 39% (22-for-56) from the field and were 8-for-20 from long-range.
Meanwhile, MSSU countered with a 53% mark (36-for-68) overall, was 5-for-15 from deep, and hit 14-of-18 free throws. Bowlin led all players with 34 points and added six assists – also a game-high.
Truman will return to action this Saturday afternoon in Pittsburg, Kan., as the ‘Dogs face Pitt State at 3:30 p.m.
Courtesy Truman State University
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