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SPRINGFIELD – Led by newcomer Alize Johnson’s 26 points and 11 rebounds, Missouri State cruised to a 93-72 exhibition win here Saturday, dispatching visiting Missouri Baptist before 2,737 fans at JQH Arena.
The Bears also got double-figure scoring efforts from fellow newcomers Jarrid Rhodes (13 points) and Ronnie Rousseau III (11), while Dequon Miller tallied 13 points. Obediah Church notched a game-high 13 rebounds with Jarred Dixon and Austin Ruder each contributing 9 points off the bench for Paul Lusk’s Bears.
Missouri Baptist was led by Jahmouri Robinson who was a perfect 6-for-6 from the field to lead four Spartans in double figures with 15 points.
MSU never trailed in the game and jumped out to a 7-0 lead out of the gates. It took the Bears less than five minutes to open up their first double-digit advantage, and by the midway point in the opening half, the home side had its biggest lead of the period, 28-13.
Six different Missouri State players connected on 3-pointers, including a team-high three treys by Miller. Rousseau’s second bomb of the night with just under seven minutes to play gave Missouri State its biggest lead of the night, 91-65. As a team, the Bears made 11-of-31 (.355) shots beyond the arc.
A key stretch late in the first half seemed to dash the Spartans’ chances. After back-to-back treys by David Gabrovsek cut the MSU lead to 33-28 at the five-minute mark, Missouri State reeled off 10 of the next 12 points over a three-minute stretch. A baseline jumper by Dixon, a trey by Rousseau, a dunk by Robin Thompson and a jumper from Rhodes pushed the maroon side ahead 43-30 with two minutes to go in the half.
That momentum carried forward into the second half with MSU stretching a 49-35 halftime lead into a 61-39 edge just three minutes into the second stanza.
For the game, Missouri State connected on 32-of-77 (.416) field goals and connected on 18-of-22 (.818) from the foul line with a decisive 48-30 rebounding advantage.
Missouri Baptist was 25-of-57 (.439) from the field, 4-of-19 (.211) from beyond the arc and 18-of-24 (.750) from the stripe.
Missouri State begins regular-season play in less than a week with a 7 p.m. tipoff on Friday (Nov. 11) against Alabama A&M to begin a three-game home stand.
