An already rough season for the Lions basketball team just got a little bit rougher. Five Missouri Southern players will be leaving the team before next season.

Among the players leaving, the most notable is junior forward Deonte Cox. Cox led Southern in scoring last season with 13.6 points per game. He also garnered All-MIAA credentials at the conclusion of the 2006-2007 campaign.

“I may sit out a year and come back to the MIAA in a couple of years,” Cox told The Chart Tuesday.

“Deonte asked for his release from the team and we gave it to him,” said men’s basketball coach Robert Corn.

Also leaving the team is junior forward Terrell Rice, who transferred here from Forest Park Community College along with Cox. He will be transferring to another school. It is unknown if he will play basketball at his new school.

Junior guard/forward Joey Savage, a transfer from Bossier Parrish Community College, will be the third junior to leave the squad this season. Savage averaged 3.1 points per game in 16 appearances including eight starts in 2006-2007.

Freshman guard Daniel Hurst, considered by many to be the best shooter on the squad in 2007, will be leaving to be closer to home in the fall. Hurst finished the season 36.4 percent from beyond the arc and highlighted the season with a career-high, 21 points on 6-8 three-point shooting and 3-5 from the charity stripe against Emporia State on February 7th.

Freshman point guard Trevor Logan of Fayetteville, Ark., will be transferring at semester’s end to the University of Arkansas and will no longer be playing college basketball. Logan played in 20 games last year starting two of them. Acting as backup point guard, he averaged 2.4 points and 1.2 assists per game.

“All of these players are leaving with our blessing, we wish them all the best in the future,” Corn said.

Next season, the Lions will be led by junior guards Tyler Ryerson, T.J. Britton and Stanley Titsworth. Ryerson led the MIAA in assists last season (5.3), Britton was among the conference leaders in rebounding (7.8), and Titsworth will be the leading returning scorer for Southern (11.0).