VALPARAISO, Ind. – Isiaih Mosley matched a career high with 29 points, and Gaige Prim scored 17 points with a career-high 16 rebounds to help Missouri State (7-1, 4-1 MVC) turn back Valparaiso, 81-68, Saturday in the first of two Missouri Valley Conference games between the squads here this weekend.
Mosley led four Bears in double figures and finished 11-of-18 from the field with 8 rebounds and a team-high 5 assists. He became the first Bear since Winston Garland (Feb. 4-21, 1987) to record six straight 20-point scoring games.
Valpo (3-6, 0-1 MVC) got 21 points apiece from Donovan Clay and Ben Krikke. Krikke finished 8-of-13 from the field and 2-of-2 from long range for his career high.
Coach Dana Ford’s squad used the three-ball to regain a double-figure advantage five minutes into the second half with Keaton Hervey, Demarcus Sharp and Ja’Monta Black each burying shots from downtown as part of an 11-0 run that gave the visitors a 62-48 lead with 12:32 to play.
In its first Valley game of the season, Valpo responded with a min-run of its own, whittling the MSU lead to nine on a triple by Clay and layup from Sheldon Edwards to make it 62-53. But the Bears answered again with a 9-0 stretch led by seven points from Mosley in that span to give the visitors their biggest lead of the day, 71-53 with eight minutes to go.
The Mosley-led run also capped a 20-5 outburst by Missouri State over a key nine-minute stretch in the second half.
Valpo’s Connor Barrett ended the MSU run with five of his 11 points before the six-minute mark, but the Bears managed the clock well down the stretch and got a high-percentage dunk from Prim before the final media timeout to put things out of reach.
Black finished with 13 points with a pair of 3-pointers for Missouri State, while Hervey added 11 points with three triples.
For the game, MSU was 29-of-53 (.547) overall and 9-of-22 (.409) from bonus distance. The Bears, who turned the ball over just twice in the second half, also secured a 40-24 rebounding advantage, marking the fourth straight time MSU has outrebounded Valpo in the series.
On the afternoon, Valparaiso finished 23-of-56 (.411) from the field, 11-of-27 (.407) from long range and 11-of-19 (.579) at the stripe with seven turnovers.
In the first half, the Bears shot 70.8 percent from the field, converting 10 of their first 12 shots to lead by as many as 14 in the opening period. Hervey’s second triple of the half made it a 37-23 game with 5:24 remaining in the opening period. But Valpo responded with a 14-4 outburst before the intermission, paced by 10 points from Krikke in that span, including a 3-pointer at the horn.
