NORMAL, Ill. – Illinois State made all 10 of its free throws in overtime and 29-of-32 (.906) for the game to help the home-standing Redbirds secure a 76-66 win over visiting Missouri State here Wednesday in a Valley gut-wrencher.
With the score tied at the end of regulation, the Bears (8-9, 4-3 MVC) missed a pair of close-range shots but jumped out to a 64-61 lead in the extra period thanks to three free throws from Donovan Clay.
But the rest of the OT period belonged to the Redbirds (8-10, 3-4 MVC) who only made two field goals in extra time, but capitalized on their free throw chances when it counted. ISU pulled ahead by two on a pair of foul shots from Kendall Lewis with 2:16 to go and extended their lead on a triple from Luke Kasubke moments later. From there, the home club made all eight free throws in the final 83 seconds to cap a 13-0 run and put the game on ice
Seneca Knight’s 22 points led five Redbirds in double-figures with Malachi Poindexter adding 16 points, Lewis scoring 12 and Kasubke adding 11. Darius Buford added 10 points for ISU which also snagged 9 steals as a team.
Chance Moore led MoState with 17 points, while Dalen Ridgnal scored 14 points behind three treys. Clay and Jonathan Mogbo each added a dozen points for the visitors with Mogbo tacking on 12 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 blocks and 2 steals before fouling out.
The Bears committed a season-high 27 fouls and matched ISU’s 26 points in the paint. Four MSU players fouled out.
Missouri State made 21-of-62 (.339) overall from the field on the night but made just 1-of-15 field goal attempts in the final three minutes of regulation and overtime. Alston Mason’s uncontested layup with 30 seconds left in OT ending an 0-for-12 stretch that covered more than eight minutes.
MoState finished 8-of-34 (.235) from 3-point range, 16-for-26 (.615) at the line and a 41-36 rebounding advantage.
At the end of regulation, Ridgnal made 3-of-4 free throws over a 45-second stretch to push Missouri State ahead 61-59 with 28 seconds to go. The Redbirds called timeout and seemed to be in trouble late in the clock before Lewis bailed out ISU with a layup with 6 seconds remaining. In the final moments, Mason’s drive to the rim was knocked away, but Mogbo snagged the rebound, and his last-second jumper rimmed out to end regulation, 61-61.
In the first half, Moore led the Bears with 10 points as five different MSU players hit 3-pointers to push the visitors to a 34-30 at the midway point. A 10-2 run by the Bears late in the half, led by Moore and Mogbo, gave MSU a 33-24 lead with less than two minutes left in the opening period. But ISU hit a pair of late threes themselves, both by Poindexter, to cut into MoState’s lead late.
The Bears return to Great Southern Bank Arena on Sunday to battle unbeaten Indiana State at 2 p.m.
