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SPRINGFIELD – Missouri State (3-0) used a 32-1 run in the first half to pull away early from visiting Fontbonne University here Thursday in a 100-27 Bears victory at JQH Arena.
Chris Kendrix led all players with 19 points for Missouri State as the junior went 5-of-9 from beyond the arc. Ronnie Rousseau III added 17 points for the Bears on 8-of-11 shooting, while Ryan Kreklow contributed a career-high 15 points to the victory.
The Bears shattered the JQH Arena for largest margin of victory in claiming the team’s most one-sided win since dismantling Missouri Wesleyan, 94-14, and Feb. 14, 1918.
MSU matched a Paul Lusk-era record for field goals by converting 34-of-62 (.548) shots and held the Griffins to just 10-of-52 (.192) on the other end.
The game was close in the early going with Rio Justice Chandler scoring two of Fontbonne’s first three buckets to pull the visitors even, 6-6, just over three minutes into the game. But Missouri State got rolling from there with three consecutive “and one” plays over the next four minutes to push ahead 15-6.
A free throw by Tyler Schwartz stalled MSU’s momentum briefly, but the Bears reeled off the game’s next 23 points – including two thunderous dunks by Obediah Church – to lead 38-7 with just under seven minutes left in the opening half. Fontbonne went more than 10 minutes without a field goal in that stretch and ended the first half just 5-for-30 from the field.
After going into the intermission with a 54-15 advantage, the Bears stretched their lead to 50 on a triple by Jarrid Rhodes as part of a 15-0 run early in the second stanza. Ross Owens later knocked down a trey as part of a 9-0 run to give the home squad a 70-point advantage for the first time with just under three minutes to play.
All 12 Missouri State players in uniform scored with Alize Johnson snagging a game-high 9 rebounds, Church blocking a career-high 6 shots, and senior Jordan Martin collecting 8 points and 3 steals.
The Bears out-rebounded the Griffins by a 47-23 margin, dropped in 19 second-chance points, snagged 10 steals and committed just 9 turnovers in a complete team effort.
Chandler’s 8 points led Fontbonne, an NCAA Division III program from St. Louis. The Griffins turned the ball over 22 times and went just 1-of-19 (.053) from long distance.
Missouri State takes to the road next Wednesday (Nov. 23) at Big East Conference foe DePaul (7 p.m.) before returning to JQH Arena on Sunday, Nov. 27 against North Dakota State at 3:05 p.m.
