MSSU, OCC square off in exhibition game

An exhibition game between the Missouri Southern State University Lions and the Ozark Christian College Ambassadors gave both coaches an opportunity to fine tune their teams and get a deeper look at their benches ahead of regular season schedules.

NCAA D-II Southern (5-2) dominated the smaller NAIA Ambassadors 133-66 Tuesday at Robert Ellis Young Gymnasium, with eight Lions scoring in double figures.

All 13 players on the Southern roster scored at least five points in a display of depth that MSSU head coach Sam McMahon said is one of the strengths of this year’s team.

“That’s one of our assets,” he said. “We have a lot of guys that can play. There’s not much difference between our second five and our first five. I am proud of our bench. They set the tone when they came in and changed game both offensively and defensively. It’s going to take everyone to win on Thursday and we are ready to do that."

Colin Ruffin led the Lion offense with 16 points. Three others — Gavyn Elkamil, Jaden Taylor and Cody Lechlider — logged 15 each for Southern.

“We just focused on us and getting better,” McMahon said. “There’s a lot of things we have to get better at, especially defensively, but offensively, too. We need to work on our ball pressure and rebounding. There are always things we can focus on and improve. Those are things we work on every game. It’s not just against Ozark Christian or any other NAIA school. We try to get better every single game, no matter the opponent.”

MIAA play open Thursday at against Rogers State University (4-2).

“I’m just excited to compete against some of the best teams in the country,” McMahon said. “Rogers State is a very well-coached team with good players, but we are ready to compete against the best. We got picked 13th out of 14 teams (in the MIAA) and we are going to use that as fuel. They are going to come into our gym and we have to set the tone right at the beginning. We haven’t shot the ball extremely well up until this game. Hopefully, we start shooting the ball well, but I like where we are at. We have good energy and we will give it our best effort come Thursday.”

OCC head coach Chris Lahm said there is value for his team in competing against the Lions.

“We want to do the things we are going to be successful in against players that make it difficult for us to do that,” Lahm said. “If we can execute those things, it will make us a better squad. We go back to our level Thursday and Friday and we hope these games make us better.”

The Ambassadors have faced several larger schools in exhibition games so far this season.

Now, OCC (4-2) will face NAIA opponents Union Adventist at 6 p.m. Thursday at home and Central Christian College of the Bible at 7 p.m. Friday, also at OCC. After the two home games, the Ambassadors will have an extended break before they face Barclay College for a road game Jan. 9 in Haviland, Kansas.

“I feel good about our offense, but we need a lot of work on ball-handling, the ability to handle pressure and decision making,” Lahm said. “Right now, we are just not very good on defense.”

Trey Main led OCC with 18 points Tuesday, while Curtis Davenport chipped in 12.