Barlow and Wright lead Southern scoring attack

Southern (1-2) returns to action tonight at 7:30 p.m. as they welcome St. Mary to the Leggett & Platt Athletic Center for the home opening contest of the 2014-2015 season.

The Lions return with a record that is under .500, but following the latest game against Arkansas Fort Smith it appears Southern may be on the right track.

“We are excited for the home opener,” said senior Lane Barlow, “after we have been on the road for the last four games.”

To open the year, the Lions were in Sioux Falls for the Sanford Pentagon Tip-Off for two contests. The games played out nearly the same as the Lions fought tooth and nail but failed to emerge victorious.

Leading the Lions in the early going have been the familiar faces, with Barlow putting up double digits in both games, 25 points for the team high in game number two, along with Cameron Cornelius, who had 18 points.

The final contest on the road was a battle yet again, this time against Ark.-Fort Smith on Wednesday night.

The second half was the difference, as the Lions caught fire, scoring a season high 57 points in the half while going 19-29 from the floor (65.5 percent).

Southern shot 47.1 percent from the floor overall, and after throwing up 18 three-point shots in the opening half, the Lions dialed down the aggressiveness, taking only five more, converting four of those five (80 percent).

Junior Austin Wright led all scorers with 19 points with five buckets from three-point range.