SPRINGFIELD – A corner 3-pointer by Southeast Missouri’s Eric Reed as the shot clock expired with 11 seconds remaining sealed a 99-94 opening-night win for the visiting Redhawks over home-standing Missouri State here Tuesday.
The Bears got 28 points and 15 rebounds from Gaige Prim who played with four fouls down the stretch to keep the home squad close in the final minutes. Newcomer Donovan Clay also added 20 points in his MSU debut.
In fact, offensively the Bears scored their most points on opening night since 2016, firing at a 51.7-percent clip from the field and committing just seven turnovers.
But the Redhawks shot 57.1 percent overall and had five players score in double figures, including 21 by Reed and 19 from Chris Harris.
There were 51 free throws in the second half alone with neither team getting into a true rhythm. Clay’s free throw with 7:37 remaining tied the game, 77-77, but SEMO quickly regained the advantage with a layup from Nygal Russell and eight consecutive made free throws in crunch time. Manny Patterson’s traditional 3-point play just prior to the under-four media timeout matched the visitors’ biggest lead of the night, 88-80.
MSU would get within 90-86 on a put-back by Prim at the three-minute mark, but Nana Akenten’s triple shortly thereafter pushed the visitors ahead 95-87 with 1:22 remaining.
But the Bears’ best push of the second half followed with Isiaih Mosley igniting a 7-1 run for Missouri State at a critical juncture. Mosley’s two free throws were followed by a layup from Dawson Carper before Demarcus Sharp drained a trey from the left corner to make it 96-94 with 43 seconds to play.
In the deciding moments, perhaps MSU’s best defensive stand of the night was spoiled on Reed’s desperation attempt to beat the shot clock that found its mark and handed the Bears just their third home-opening loss of the team’s Division I era.
Joining Prim and Clay in double figures for the Bears was Mosley with 16 points and newcomer Jaylen Minnett with 14. Prim and Ja’Monta Black dished out three assists apiece while Prim registered his 19th career double-double.
MSU finished 7-of-26 (.269) from long range with Minnett tossing in four bonus balls and Sharp hitting two. The Bears were 25-of-35 (.714) at the stripe and were out-rebounded, 33-30.
SEMO was 8-of-19 (.421) from long range with two of its three second-half triples coming in clutch spots. The Redhawks were also 27-of-34 (.794) at the stripe in a game that saw 48 fouls called between the squads.
Clay, who finished 8-for-10 from the field on the night, led all scorers in the first half with 13 points, but SEMO took a 45-41 lead into the intermission. The Bears led just twice — 2-0 on Sharp’s runner off the glass and 16-14 on Clay’s triple six minutes into the game.
The Bears are back at home Saturday evening for a 7 p.m. tipoff against visiting Alabama State
