SPRINGFIELD – Missouri State senior Camyn Boone scored a game-high 17 points and went 7-for-7 at the line to help the Bears (12-17, 8-9 MVC) to a 61-52 senior night win over visiting Drake here Wednesday.
Freshman Jarred Dixon pitched in 10 points and 10 rebounds on the winning side for his first career double-double, while Chris Kendrix added 10 points to help MSU improve to 31-3 on senior night during its Division I era.
Drake (6-23, 1-16) got 16 points and 8 rebounds from Ore Arogundade, while Dominik Olejniczak added 12 points, and Billy Wampler scored 11 off the bench as the Bulldogs dropped their seventh straight.
Even though the Bears led for more than 32 minutes in the game, DU made it interesting midway through with a 15-0 run that extended through halftime. After a 3-pointer by Dixon gave the Bears a 27-18 lead with 3:28 to go in the first period, Missouri State went the next seven-and-a-half minutes without a field goal. Drake pushed ahead 29-27 at the break and later 35-28 early in the second half.
But the Bears quenched the drought with some help from their reserves. Tyler McCullough broke the team’s 0-for-9 slump from field with a layup, and moments later Ryan Kreklow dropped in a 3-pointer to push the home side back in front 36-35 at the 14:41 mark. Miller scored a trey on MSU’s next possession, and McCullough capped a 13-0 run by the maroon side with a put-back before the under-12 media break.
Boone took over in the final eight minutes, scoring 10 of MSU’s last 16 points, and MSU led by as many as 12 down the stretch to hang on for the win.
The Bears out-rebounded Drake by a 39-38 margin, turned the ball over just 8 times and blocked 11 shots – the club’s most under head coach Paul Lusk. Obediah Church accounted for 4 blocks, while McCullough tallied 3. Church also snagged 6 rebounds, second only to Dixon’s game-high 10.
Missouri State finished 15-of-18 (.833) at the foul line while converting 6-of-19 (.316) from long range and 20-for-58 (.345) overall from the field.
Drake, which ranked 23rd nationally in 3-point shooting coming into the game, converted just 6-of-17 (.353) from beyond the arc, while MSU held the Bulldogs to 36 percent shooting and just three free throw attempts. DU’s top scorer, Reed Timmer was 3-for-14 from the field and finished with 6 points.
The victory marked a number of milestones for MSU, including its 90th win at JQH Arena and the 70th win for Lusk at MSU. Missouri State clinched its 45th consecutive winning season at home, including all eight years at JQH, while improving to 24-1 all-time at home against Drake.
With the win and Wednesday night losses by Loyola and Indiana State, the Bears moved back into sole possession of sixth place in the MVC standings with one game to play.
MSU wraps up the regular season Saturday at Southern Illinois (21-9, 10-7) with a 7 p.m. tipoff in Carbondale. The MVC Tournament runs March 3-6 at Scottrade Center in St. Louis.
