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SPRINGFIELD – Gaige Prim scored 32 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, both game highs, to help Missouri State to a 79-70 come-from-behind win over visiting Indiana State here Tuesday.
Prim’s effort was just one point shy of a career high, while his 18 free throws (on 21 attempts) was just one shy of a school record. It was his 10th double-double of the season. Fellow senior Jaylen Minnett also had a memorable evening for the Bears (20-8, 11-4 MVC), matching a season-high with 22 points behind six 3-pointers against his hometown club.
Cooper Neese led the Sycamores (11-15, 4-10) with 23 points, while Cameron Henry pitched in 12 points, 7 rebounds and 5 assists for the visitors.
With the win, Missouri State secured a 20-win season for the 30th time in program history and 17th time in its Division I era.
The victory was not an easy one for the Bears, who avenged a four-point loss in Terre Haute in Jan. 25. Indiana State scored the game’s first seven points and then matched that lead after a 6-0 run with 12:29 to go in the game gave the visiting squad a 51-44 lead.
A traditional 3-point play by Isaac Haney stopped the ISU momentum before Minnett’s fifth triple of the night got the Bears back within one. Haney then tied it up, 53-53, headed into the under-12 timeout with an open corner three.
Four minutes later, ISU took a two-point lead on a three from Neese, but Haney’s layup knotted the score for the final time, 61-61, with 7:51 to play.
The Bears then exploded on 16-1 run over the next six minutes to put things on ice. Prim accounted for 11 points in that stretch, while Minnett scored five, including his final 3-pointer of the night that gave MSU its first double-figure lead of the game at the 3:44 mark. By the time the smoke cleared, the Bears had a 77-62 lead with two minutes to go.
The Sycamores were 0-for-5 from the field in that stretch, all from 3-point range.
Indiana State finally knocked down a pair three pointers in the final two minutes to get the final margin back to single figures, but the home side rose to the occasion in the clutch to keep the Bears in the Valley race.
With a week and a half to go in the regular season, the Bears (11-4 MVC) are in a virtual tie for first place in The Valley with Loyola (10-3) and UNI (11-4), all two games ahead of Drake (8-5) and Bradley (9-6). Loyola plays at Valpo on Wednesday.
For the night, the Bears were 26-of-60 (.433) from the field, but converted 60-percent in the second half alone. MSU was also 8-for-18 (.444) from 3-point range and 19-of-22 (.864) at the stripe with a 39-29 rebounding advantage.
Missouri State also committed just 8 turnovers, four each half. Behind Minnett and Haney, the Bears racked up 30 bench points, their most in league play.
The Sycamores finished 22-of-54 (.407) from the field, 9-of-29 (.310) from three-point range, and 17-for-21 (.810) at the line with 10 turnovers.
In the first half, the Bears shot just 31 percent after a 2-for-9 start but erased an early 7-0 deficit to lead as late as the six-minute mark. Minnett tied the game, 31-31, with 65 seconds left in the half with a short jumper, but Henry pushed the Sycamores ahead by two at the intermission with the final bucket of the half.
Minnett was 4-for-5 from 3-point range in the first half, while Prim dumped in 9 points and snagged 5 rebounds in the opening stanza for the home side.
The Bears take to the road Sunday for a nationally-televised game with major Valley implications at UNI at 1 p.m. on ESPNU. Missouri State then returns home next Wednesday for the final regular-season home game against Bradley on senior night. Tickets for the Bradley 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.
