The Missouri Southern Lions welcome the Southwest Baptist Bearcats tomorrow for a 7:30 p.m. contest in Leggett & Platt Athletic Center.

The first meeting between the two saw the Bearcats come out on top 84-77.

“We had a seven point lead at halftime,” head coach Robert Corn said. “Not taking advantage of the second chance opportunities in the second half is what hurt us in that game.”

The last meeting between the two included a 28-point night for SBU forward Jared Young.

“Young really hurt us,” Corn said. “He put his team on his shoulders and said ‘let’s go for a ride.’ He was able to hit the jump shot and got us off the dribble. We’ve got to keep him from building confidence, because when he got confident last time he was very hard to stop.”

Currently holding down eighth place in the conference, the Lions are completely in charge of their playoff destiny.

“We’re not the type of team that has one guy who can take the team and carry them for awhile,” Corn said. “We have to get by on execution, doing the little things like taking care of the basketball, making good plays, setting the good screens offensively, and closing out and playing more of a team defense-type game. We have to rely on balance of a basketball game rather than an individual player.”

While on the road last week, the Lions picked up a crucial win beating Washburn 79-70. Guard Ed Miles scored 15 points to lead the Lions.

“We led the whole game,” Corn said. “To win on the road feels great.”

The story was different for the Lions in Western Kansas, as the Ft. Hays State University Tigers ended the first half of Saturday’s game with a 32-3 run. The Lions never recovered, falling 89-61. Guard T.J. Britton scored 13 in the loss.

At home against Emporia State University on Wednesday, the Lions lost when, in the last eight seconds of the game, Hornet guard DeAndre Townsend took away the 72-71 lead with a last minute layup. Matt Habermehl missed a final shot and the Lions suffered a 73-72 loss.