Missouri State (10-15, 6-7 MVC) never led here Wednesday, but the Bears battled tooth and nail for 40 minutes against the red-hot UNI Panthers, ultimately falling 83-69 in a heated battled at McLeod Center.
The Bears knocked down a season-high 11 3-pointers and shot 45.5 percent from the field to out-shoot UNI (15-11, 7-6) which won its fifth Valley contest in a row.
Chris Kendrix scored five 3-pointers en route to his third straight 20-point game. He finished with 20 points and 8 rebounds, while Jarred Dixon also contributed 15 points for the Bears.
UNI was led by Jeremy Morgan with a game-high 21 points, while Matt Bohannon and Bennett Koch added 19 points apiece. The Panthers finished 44.3 percent from the field and 10 treys.
Ben Jacobson’s club started out with four treys before the first media timeout to build a 17-10 lead in the first five minutes. The Bears tried to keep pace with a flurry of long shots and got within 20-13 at the 13:37 mark. But the Panthers finished the half 8-of-14 from downtown to build a 49-38 lead at the midway point, matching an MSU opponent season-high for points in a half.
But the second half proved better for Missouri State which held the Panthers to a 2-for-12 stretch from the field early and used an aggressive defense to get back within single digits less than two minutes into the half.
Later in the period, Loomis Gerring dropped in a 3-pointer from the right wing to make it 61-58, at the 9:31 mark. But the Bears committed four turnovers and missed their next six shots, leading to an 18-6 run by UNI.
Koch scored eight points during the decisive stretch, and MSU struggled to get a foul call, drawing the attention of Bears’ head coach Paul Lusk who was whistled for a technical at the 7:49 mark.
MSU was called for 21 fouls all told, while UNI committed just 11, giving the home side 12 more free throw attempts in an otherwise even affair. UNI finished 19-for-21 (.905) from the foul line to lock down a needed home win.
MSU was 8-of-9 (.889) at the free throw line with just six attempts in the final stanza and was out-rebounded 33-32 in a physical game. The Bears blocked 7 shots, but did not collect a steal as the Panthers turned the ball just three times – twice on shot clock violations.
Gerring posted 7 points, while Kreklow scored 9 off the bench, and Dequon Miller tallied 8 points, 7 rebounds and 7 assists.
UNI posted 26 points in the paint and 17 points off 12 MSU turnovers, while the Bears held an 18-4 edge in bench scoring.
In the first half, UNI came out firing from long range, converting four bombs before the first media timeout and eight for the half to lead by 11 at the midway point. For their part, the Bears tried to keep pace, dropping in seven treys, including a career-high four by Kendrix who had 14 points at the intermission.
UNI played turnover-free basketball the entire first half and fired at a 53-percent clip to negate solid rebounding and a 48-percent shooting effort from the visitors.
The Bears return to JQH Arena for three of their next four games, including Saturday’s 3 p.m. matchup against Indiana State on Hall of Fame Weekend. Tickets for the ISU game can be purchased at MissouriStateBears.com/tickets or during regular box office hours at JQH Arena and by phone at (417) 836-7678.
