Much like they did two weeks ago against Illinois State, Missouri State (11-15, 7-7 MVC) overcame an early overtime deficit here Saturday and rallied for an 89-85 victory over visiting Indiana State at JQH Arena in Missouri Valley Conference play.
Senior Camyn Boone scored a career high 30 points on 11-of-18 shooting for MSU with 12 rebounds en route to his third career double-double. Teammates Chris Kendrix and Dequon Miller tossed in 19 points apiece with Kendrix adding 12 boards in his first career double-double.
Indiana State (13-13, 7-7) was led by Devonte Brown with 26 points, while Brenton Scott added 19 as the Sycamores dropped their third straight league game.
Missouri State held a 77-73 lead with 20 seconds to go in regulation after a pair of Miller free throws. The Bears fouled Brown with 12.2 ticks remaining, and after he made one of two from the stripe, the Sycamores’ Laquarious Paige stole the in-bound pass and dished it to Scott who drained a game-tying 3-pointer from the left corner.
Miller got off a 3-point attempt from the top of the key as time expired, but it caromed off the rim, forcing MSU’s second overtime game at home in two weeks.
ISU built an 83-79 lead in overtime after Brown knocked down a close-range jumper and a layup in extra time. Boone halted the mini Sycamore run with a quick bucket off the glass for the Bears, and then Kendrix gave the home side the lead with 59 seconds left on a clutch trey from the right wing.
ISU had two cracks at the rim from close range on its ensuing possession, but Ryan Kreklow scraped out the second rebound, and the Bears milked the clock down to 20 seconds before Miller was fouled and went back to the line. He made both free throws to give the Bears an 86-83 cushion.
From there, MSU played it safe, fouling Brown before the hot-shooting ISU club could get off a 3-point attempt. Brown missed one of his two charity shots, and Boone was quickly fouled by the Sycamores at the 11-second mark. He also made one of two to make it 87-84, and MSU employed the same strategy on ISU’s next possession. Brown repeated his previous trip to the stripe, missing the second shot this time.
In the deciding moments, Kendrix was fouled with 7.3 ticks showing, and he responded by connecting on both free throws to give the Bears a four-point lead for the first time since the end of regulation. ISU attempted a 3-pointer before the final horn, but Brown’s shot was off target, giving Missouri State its third straight home win.
Indiana State finished 9-for-21 (.429) from 3-point range, but tallied seven of those on the heels of key Missouri State baskets to keep things close throughout. The Sycamores were a dismal 18-of-35 (.514) at the foul line, including just 2-of-6 in extra time.
The game featured 11 ties and 8 lead changes with the Bears owning the lead for nearly 27 minutes.
MSU fired at a 47-percent clip in the second half and out-rebounded ISU by a 45-44 margin for the game. Perhaps most impressive was MSU’s 22 second-chance points that came from 17 offensive rebounds with Loomis Gerring and Kendrix posting five apiece to lead the way.
Gerring tallied 9 points off the bench to go with his 6 rebounds.
For the game, MSU finished 30-for-72 (.417) from the field, 6-of-19 (.316) from bonus distance and 23-for-32 (.719) at the stripe with just 10 turnovers. The Bears’ 72 shot attempts was a season high.
The game marked the first time in more than two years that two Bears posted a double-double. Jarmar Gulley and Ron Mvouika did so most recently on Feb. 5, 2014 at Evansville.
With the win, Missouri State moved into a tie with Indiana State for the coveted sixth spot in the MVC standings with four games to play. MSU is also just one game behind fifth-place Northern Iowa and a game-and-a-half behind fourth-place Evansville.
In the first half, the Bears led by nine points once and eight points twice, but the Sycamores had an answer each time, knocking down a trey on their ensuing possession in all three situations. The Bears got a bucket by Boone just prior to the halftime horn to give the home side a narrow 35-33 lead at the midway point.
The Bears will now head to league-leading Wichita State (18-7, 2-2 MVC) on Thursday night for a 6 p.m. tipoff on CBS Sports Network before they return to JQH Arena on Feb. 21 to host Loyola.
