After a heart-wrenching loss to Emporia State University, the second consecutive of such nature at the hands of the Hornets, Bart Tatum’s Missouri Southern Lions will return home to host the Truman State University Bulldogs tomorrow.

“It was a difficult game to swallow,” he said. “We’ve done some soul-searching, it’s very apparent to all of us in the program, in the organization, that we have to get to the bottom of why we’re not more productive, particularly on the defensive side of the ball, in the second half of ballgames, fourth quarter of ballgames.”

Last Saturday, the Lions gave away a 17-0 halftime lead, being outscored 31-7 in the second half of the game.

The loss dropped Southern to 1-4 on the year, with four games remaining this season. 

Tatum, as well as defensive end Gary Combs, says the team’s goal for 2011 is to win out.

They will take the first step towards that task at 1 p.m. tomorrow when the Bulldogs of Truman State arrive at Fred G. Hughes Stadium in Joplin.

Southern’s remaining games after Truman State are home matchups with SBU and Northwest Missouri, followed by a season-ending two-game trip to Fort Hays and Pittsburg State.