NORMAL, Ill. – Missouri State got 24 points from Isiaih Mosley and overcame an extended second-half dry spell to hold off Illinois State, 72-62, here Sunday, completing a two-game MVC road sweep for the Bears (11-5, 7-5 MVC).
Gaige Prim scored 16 points, and Ja’Monta Black added 10 for MSU, which improved to 5-1 on the road this season and locked up a winning road record for the first time since 2011-12. It was also career win No. 100 for Bears head coach Dana Ford.
After the Bears went ahead 46-36 on a Mosley jumper early in the second half, Missouri State went 0-for-12 from the field over a seven-minute drought. During that stretch, Illinois State (5-14, 2-11 MVC) scratched its way back into it and grabbed the lead on a bucket from Antonio Reeves that made it 47-46 with 12:31 to play.
But Mosley ignited the MSU resurgence, sparking a 10-2 counterpunch with a 3-pointer that started the run. Demarcus Sharp added a Missouri State triple two possessions later, and then Prim and Mosley tag-teamed back-to-back layups to give MSU a 56-49 advantage at the 7:50 mark.
Prim’s bucket in that span put him over 1,000 points for his NCAA career, including his time at West Texas A&M his freshman season.
Down the stretch, Illinois State would get three 3-pointers, including two from D.J. Horne, to stay within reach. But every time the Redbirds got within 3 or 4 of the lead, Missouri State responded with a clutch bucket. Jared Ridder, Black and Mosley each buried critical treys over the last six minutes of the game to help propel MSU to the road win.
Missouri State’s defense engineered stop after stop in crunch time, holding the Redbirds without a field goal over the last 4:22, while Mosley put things on ice with MSU’s final nine points of the afternoon.
The Bears finished 27-of-63 (.429) from the field, 11-for-29 (.379) from 3-point range and 7-of-8 (.875) at the line with six of those charity shots coming in the game’s final seven minutes. Missouri State also committed a season-low 6 turnovers in the win.
Mosley and Sharp each handed out 7 assists apiece, while Mosley snagged a team-high 8 rebounds.
Illinois State, which got 18 points from Horne and 14 from Josiah Strong in his return, finished 23-for-63 (.365) overall and 10-for-27 (.370) from long range. Like the Bears, ISU didn’t get a lot of opportunities from the foul line, but converted 6-of-7 (.857) with 9 turnovers.
ISU out-rebounded the Bears by a 40-38 margin.
In the first half, there were four ties and eight lead changes, but when Ridder started a 7-0 run for the visitors with 4:33 left in the half, the Bears gained separation and pushed ahead by as many as 11. Ridder, Mosley and Black each hit triples in the final two-plus minutes before the intermission that made it 42-31.
The Redbirds got a traditional 3-point play just before the end of the half to make it 42-34 at the game’s midway point. After a 1-for-6 start from the field, MSU finished the opening stanza 17-of-32 (.531) from the field.
