Southern (1-0) opened up an 11-6 lead early on in the first half after a layup from Deonte Cox (St. Louis, Mo.). UMSL would tie the game twice in the half and take a quick two point lead with just over two minutes remaining in the half, but threes from Myron Hodge (Indianapolis, Ind.) and Tyler Ryerson (Willard, Mo.) would give the Lions a one point lead at the half.

Southern shot 50 percent (17-34) from the field in the half, while UMSL (0-1) shot 42 percent.

The Rivermen held a one point lead after a three pointer from Troy Slaten with 15:36 left. They would lead by three after a trey from Brett Ledbetter, but a dunk from Stanley Titsworth (Muskogee, Ok.) spurred a 17-6 run for the Lions over a six minute span to put Southern up 65-54.

Britton led all scorers with 18 points on 8-12 shooting. Cox added 14 points, while Joey Savage (Good Pine, La.) scored 11. Titsworth finished with nine points and Ryerson scored eight, adding five assists and three steals.

Slaten led the Rivermen with 18 points, while Ledbetter scored 16. Octavious Hawkins had 17 rebounds.

The Lions shot 47 percent from the field for the game, scoring 20 points off 18 UMSL turnovers.

Southern will be back in action this weekend when they play host to the Freeman Sports Medicine/Chris Tucker Memorial Classic. The Lions will face Central Bible at 7 p.m. on Friday, and then will tangle with 22nd ranked West Texas A&M at 7 p.m. on Saturday night.