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SPRINGFIELD – Led by a stingy defense, Missouri State forced 16 turnovers, snagged 11 steals and got key defensive stops down the stretch to score a 69-60 win over visiting Oral Roberts here Saturday.The Bears (6-4) got a game-high 25 points from Isiaih Mosley who was 10-for-20 from the field with 8 rebounds and 3 assists. Ja’Monta Black added 16 points with three 3-pointers, and Gaige Prim posted 10 points and 6 rebounds in limited minutes for Missouri State.But the star for the Bears may have been freshman Isaac Haney who came off the bench to rack up four key steals, while grabbing three rebounds and the team’s “hustle belt” from coach Dana Ford after the game. He had two key 50-50 takeaways on back-to-back ORU possessions in the final three minutes of the game to help seal the victory.The rest came from clutch plays by Mosley, Black and Lu’Cye Patterson on the offensive end. After ORU (5-5) trimmed Missouri State’s double-figure lead to 42-41 with 9:06 to go, Black splashed home his third trey of the game to give the home side some separation. Mosley then reeled off six in a row for the Bears and then pushed his team ahead 56-48 with a pair of free throws with four minutes remaining.One of the best shots of the night then came late in the shot lock with two-and-a-half minutes to play with Patterson’s first 3-pointer of the season to make it a 59-50 game.Max Abmas got a steal and running 3-pointer moments later to draw the Golden Eagles within six, but Missouri State was game for a clutch finish, making 10-of-12 free throws down the stretch – including four by Haney — to seal the win.Abmas, who led the nation in scoring last season, was held to 19 points on 7-of-18 shooting with five 3-pointers. DeShang Weaver added 15 points for the visitors who racked up 14 second-chance points behind 11 offensive boards.Oral Roberts finished 25-of-63 (.397) overall, 7-for-26 (.269) from distance and 3-of-7 (.429) at the stripe with a 41-38 rebounding advantage.Missouri State shot a season-low 39.7 percent from the field (23-of-58) and just 4-of-21 (.190) from long range, but was steady at the foul line, making 19-of-24 (.792) at the stripe with 11 turnovers, 11 steals and four blocks.After back-to-back games with solid bench production in the scoring column, the Bears had just 9 bench points on Saturday, including 4 points from Jaylen Minnett and 3 from Haney.In the first half, the Bears overcame an early six-point deficit and a 33-percent shooting effort to lead 27-25 at the midway point. Mosley accounted for more than half of MSU’s scoring with 14 points, while the home defense forced 9 ORU turnovers and racked up 7 steals while holding the Golden Eagles to 34-percent shooting from the field.ORU led 19-13 with 6:41 left in the first half, but the Bears tied it on a 6-0 run led by Donovan Clay, Mosley and Minnett. Mosley scored six of Missouri State’s last eight points of the period with Minnett’s jumper at the 2:56 mark pushing the Bears ahead for good.Missouri State continues its three-game home stand Wednesday at 6 p.m. when the Bears square off against South Dakota State (9-3) at 6 p.m. Tickets for the SDSU game are available at MissouriStateBears.com or by visiting the Old Missouri Bank Box Office at JQH Arena, (417) 836-7678, during regular box office hours.
