SPRINGFIELD – Donovan Clay scored three points in the final 77 seconds and finished with a team-high 15 points on the afternoon to lift Missouri State to a 52-49 home win over visiting Drake here Sunday in Missouri Valley Conference play.
Clay’s jumper with 1:07 to go erased Drake’s narrow one-point lead, and pushed the Bears (7-7, 3-1 MVC) ahead 50-49. That score held until Clay attacked the rim with 21 seconds left in the game and got fouled before making one-of-two at the line.
Missouri State’s defense then stepped up big, forcing the Bulldogs (11-4, 2-2) to miss their last four field goal attempts of the night, while Jonathan Mogo’s free throw with 3.8 seconds remaining pushed the home club up by its final winning margin of three.
Mogbo’s defensive rebound off a miss from Sardaar Calhoun moments earlier was his eighth of the game, matching Clay for team-high rebounding honors, and was one of the biggest caroms of the ball game.
It took nearly four minutes to sort out the game’s final three seconds, but in the end, Drake’s Roman Penn lost the ball in the corner, and the Bears secured their third straight victory.
Kendle Moore joined Clay in double figures for Missouri State with 13 points off the bench, while Chance Moore scored 9. Clay also dished out a team-high 5 assists, blocked 4 shots and eclipsed 1,000 career points in the victory.
Drake was led by Tucker DeVries with 20 points, while D.J. Wilkins scored 11, and Darnell Brodie snagged a game-high 13 rebounds.
The Bears shot an even 40 percent from the field (20-of-50) overall and 8-of-24 (.333) from distance, including three triples by Chance Moore. MSU was 4-of-9 at the line (.444), while matching DU on the glass, 35-35.
Drake finished 20-of-57 (.351) overall, 5-of-13 (.385) from downtown and 4-of-8 (.500) at the line with 10 turnovers. The Bulldogs secured 11 second-chance points off 10 offensive rebounds, compared to MSU’s 2 second-chance points.
The victory marked Missouri State’s third in the last four meetings with Drake. The teams will square off again in Des Moines on Jan. 18.
In the first half, the Bears took it to the Valley preseason favorites from the jump, pushing ahead by seven early on a steal and dunk by Dalen Ridgnal. Chance Moore’s first 3-pointer of the day then pushed MSU up 17-7 to give the home club a double-figure lead for the first time.
Drake would cut the Bears’ lead to four on two occasions before the break, but in both instances, MSU had an answer. Clay’s driving layup ended an 0-for-6 stretch for the home club with six minutes left in the stanza and started a 5-0 mini-run. Later, Chance Moore’s second triple of the period and Clay’s late layup pushed MoState ahead 30-21. DeVries’ jumper at the buzzer got the Bulldogs back within 30-23 at the midway point.
Missouri State will wrap its current two-game home stand on Wednesday at 7 p.m. when it welcomes Evansville (4-11, 0-4 MVC) to Great Southern Bank Arena
