NORMAL, Ill. – A pair of 3-pointers from Jared Ridder in the final four minutes and a series of key defensive stops down the stretch lifted visiting Missouri State to a 74-67 Missouri Valley Conference win here Saturday.
Isiaih Mosley led four MSU players in double figures with 19 points on 7-of-11 shooting to go with 6 assists. Ridder and Demarcus Sharp contributed 15 points apiece, while Gaige Prim pumped in a double-double with 14 points and 11 rebounds.
Ridder also finished with a game-high four 3-pointers, igniting key MSU runs with two in each half.
Even though MSU (10-5, 6-5 MVC) trailed for less than seven minutes on the afternoon, there were nine ties and 19 lead changes in the game. After the Redbirds cut the Bears’ lead to 59-58 with 5:34 to go on a runner off the glass by Antonio Reeves, the Bears turned to Ridder who buried a three in the left corner to give the visitors a four-point cushion.
On Missouri State’s next possession, Prim added a jumper to make it 64-58, before Ridder put it out of reach with a triple from the corner again, making it 67-58 with 2:29 remaining.
From there, it was a free throw contest for the Bears with five MSU players combining to go 7-of-10 at the line to seal the victory.
The Bears finished 26-of-53 (.491) from the field, 7-of-21 (.333) from bonus range and 15-for-22 (.682) at the line with just 11 turnovers.
Missouri State’s win snapped a four-game skid and helped the maroon squad improve to 4-1 in MVC road games this season.
Illinois State (5-13, 2-10) was led by D.J. Horne with 23 points, while Reeves added 17. The Redbirds were 25-for-59 (.424) overall, 7-for-22 (.318) from long range and 10-for-14 (.714) with a 37-31 rebounding advantage.
The Redbirds converted its 11 offensive rebounds into 11 second-chance points.
In the first half, the Bears used a pair of Ridder 3-pointers and inside buckets from Nic Tata and Prim to go on an 11-2 run before the 10-minute mark and lead 22-15. MSU’s biggest lead of the opening stanza was short-lived as the Redbirds burned a timeout and answered with an 8-0 outburst of their own to retake the lead just two minutes later.
There would be seven ties and 16 lead changes in all in the opening period with Prim’s hook shot tying the game, 36-36, at the intermission.
The same teams square off again on Super Bowl Sunday with a 2 p.m. tipoff at Redbird Arena.
