NORMAL, Ill. – Gaige Prim scored 27 points and snagged 12 rebounds, but it wasn’t quite enough as Missouri State dropped a 79-74 decision in overtime at Illinois State here Wednesday in the Missouri Valley Conference opener for both squads.
The Bears (4-3, 0-1) led 62-53 with 4:14 left in regulation after Jaylen Minnett buried his third 3-pointers of the ball game. But a quick-striking Redbirds squad closed the gap to 62-61 just two minutes later with a layup from Ryan Schmitt and back-to-back 3-pointers by Kendall Lewis and Antonio Reeves.
MSU’s Isiaih Mosley quieted the crowed of just under 3,000 with a layup on MSU’s next trip to give the Bears a three-point cushion, but Illinois State (4-4, 1-0) knocked down another triple, this time by Josiah Strong, with 38 seconds remaining to tie the game and force overtime.
“We didn’t execute down the stretch,” said Bears head coach Dana Ford. “We were not assignment correct in transition and that really hurt us.”
Reeves, who finished with 22 points, then took over, scoring ISU’s first seven points in the extra period and putting the home squad up 71-61 with just 90 seconds left.
Lu’Cye Patterson, who handled the point most of the night for the Bears, hit a layup, a jumper and a pair of free throws to get Missouri State within 75-72 with 25 seconds showing in overtime. But the home side was ready for the challenge, making 6-of-7 free throws in the clutch to take the conference win.
Missouri State finished 31-of-68 (.456) from the field, 7-for-25 (.280) from long range and 5-of-6 (.833) at the line with a 35-31 rebounding advantage.
Mosley added 12 points and 9 rebounds for the Bears, with Patterson dumping in a career-high 10 points.
The Redbirds finished 26-of-57 (.456) overall, 13-for-23 (.565) from distance and 14-for-15 (.933) at the stripe with 16 turnovers.
In the opening half, Missouri State shot 45 percent and got 11 points from Prim to lead by 10 on two occasions. But after a trey from Mosley gave Missouri State a 31-21 lead with 3:16 left in the stanza, the Redbirds caught fire from long range, burying three unanswered bombs as part of an 11-0 run to briefly take a 32-31 lead. But on the final shot of the period, MSU’s Minnett splashed home his second three of the half to give the visitors a 34-32 at the midway point.
After three weeks on the road, MoState finally returns to JQH Arena on Saturday when it hosts No. 12-ranked BYU in a nationally-televised game at 3 p.m.
