Missouri State made seven free throws in the final 52 seconds to take a 76-73 win over visiting Indiana State here Sunday in a thrilling Missouri Valley Conference showdown.
The Bears (14-5, 4-2 MVC) were led by Alize Johnson’s 21 points and 16 rebounds. He and Ryan Kreklow each contributed three charity shots in the final minutes to help ice the win, while Jarred Dixon scored 15 for the home club.
ISU (8-10, 3-3 MVC) was led by Jordan Barnes’ 18 points with Tyreke Key contributing 16.
Missouri State led by 10 at the half and extended its advantage to a game-best 11 points midway through the second half on back-to-back 3-pointers by Johnson and a free throw by J.T. Miller that made it 57-46.
Indiana State then ripped off eight unanswered points over the next three minutes to make it a 57-54 contest. The Bears called a timeout and immediately went back to Miller whose driving layup gave MSU some breathing room with just under eight minutes remaining.
The Bears clung to a narrow advantage until a triple by Demonte Ojinnaka, his second of the afternoon, gave the Sycamores their first lead of the day, 63-62. Johnson and Dixon knotted the score with free throws on Missouri State’s next two trips, but another ISU 3-pointer, this time by Barnes, with 2:26 to play gave the visitors their biggest lead, 68-65.
Missouri State rallied in the final two minutes, getting a runner by Ronnie Rousseau III to close the gap to one, and then retaking the lead, 69-68, on a floater by Dixon with 1:23 to play. Indiana State missed its next three shots, which the Bears turned into four unanswered points at the foul line – three by Johnson and one by Rousseau – to push the Bears ahead by five.
But with 6.1 seconds to play, Barnes knocked down his fourth trey of the game, to keep the visitors within striking distance, 73-71. Kreklow was quickly fouled with 5.2 seconds remaining and made one of two to get MSU’s lead back to three.
Down the stretch, the Bears fouled Barnes before Indiana State could get across half court and attempt a potential game-tying three. Barnes made both free throws to make it a one-point contest, but MSU was able to inbound the ball to Kreklow with two ticks on the clock, and he iced the victory by making both free throws in the clutch.
Missouri State converted 46.3 percent of its field goal attempts (25-of-54) on the game, matching their best so far in league play, while knocking down 6-of-19 (.316) threes and 20-of-29 (.690) free throws with a 33-29 edge in rebounding.
The Bears, who also got 9 points apiece from Kreklow and Obediah Church, committed just 11 turnovers and turned 10 offensive caroms into 11 second-chance points.
Indiana State was 23-of-54 (.426) overall and 10-for-29 (.345) from bonus range. The Sycamores turned the ball over 10 times and made 17-of-23 (.739) from the foul stripe. Brenton Scott added 13 points for the visitors with Clayton Hughes contributing a game-high 5 assists.
In the first half, both teams were slow getting started, but a layup by Church and 3-point play by Johnson gave MSU a five-point advantage six minutes in. Later, a 10-0 run by Missouri State over a three-minute stretch pushed the home club ahead 16-6 with 8:49 left in the opening stanza.
ISU knocked down three treys over the next four minutes to stay close, but it was back-to-back triples by Krelow before the intermission that put MSU up 40-30 at the midway point.
The Bears continue their two-game home stand Wednesday at 7 p.m. when they take on Valparaiso (11-8, 2-4 MVC) at JQH Arena.
