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SRPINGFIELD – Gaige Prim secured his 25th career double-double, and Isiaih Mosley exploded for 22 points in the second half to lift Missouri State to an 88-63 win over visiting Illinois State here Wednesday.
Mosley finished with a game-high 24 points, while Prim added 17 points and a game-high 10 rebounds. Ja’Monta Black also contributed 14 points for Missouri State, while Donovan Clay scored 10 and secured 6 rebounds.
The Bears (16-4, 5-2 MVC) shot 57.7 percent from the field and committed just 11 turnovers to rack up their eighth home win of the season and 10th victory overall in their last 12 contests.
Illinois State (9-9, 2-3 MVC) got 19 points from Mark Freeman and 10 more from Howard Fleming, while Sy Chatman snagged 8 rebounds for the visitors.
Missouri State never trailed and led by as many as 29 points midway through the second half. Mosley ignited a 10-0 Bears run shortly after the intermission to extend a 10-point lead to 20 in the span of just over two minutes.
After the Redbirds stopped the bleeding on a layup from Kendall Lewis, Mosley got back in the driver’s seat and scored 10 more points as part of a 14-5 MSU outburst that culminated in a 70-43 lead with just under 12 minutes remaining in the game.
Prim’s free throws at the 10-minute mark gave coach Dana Ford’s squad a 74-45 advantage for its biggest lead of the ball game.
From there, the Bears would go more than five minutes without a point before Isaac Haney’s 3-pointer at the 4:48 mark restored order and ended a 10-0 stretch for ISU, the biggest run of the night for the visitors.
Dawson Carper helped MoState close out the victory with three scoring opportunities in the final three minutes. He finished with 4 points and a pair of rebounds in his first outing since the Evangel game on Dec. 30.
Illinois State finished at just 36.2 percent from the field on 25-of-71 shooting, but racked up 20 second-chance points on 18 offensive boards, including six offensive caroms by Chatman. The Redbirds were 4-of-18 (.222) from distance and 9-for-12 (.750) at the line with 9 turnovers.
The league’s top scorer, Antonio Reeves, finished with 9 points on 4-of-13 shooting.
The Bears finished the night an efficient 30-of-52 from the field and 8-of-15 (.533) from long range and 20-of-23 (.870) at the stripe. MSU matched Illinois State’s 37 total rebounds and posted 32 points in the paint.
In the first half, the Bears lead throughout and collected 14 points and four triples from Black to gain a 10-point advantage at the intermission, 44-34.
Missouri State led by 12 on four occasions – all four times on baskets by Prim – and shot 61.5 percent from the field with just five turnovers. Mosley played just three minutes in the opening half after picking up his second foul shortly after tipoff.
The Bears will now embark on a key two-game road swing at Loyola on Saturday (2:30 p.m., CBS Sports) and Indiana State next Tuesday before returning to JQH Arena on January 29 for a matchup against Evansville to end the month.
