Missouri State led by six with just under five minutes left in the game here Saturday before visiting Northern Iowa stormed back down the stretch to steal one from the Bears, 69-66, at Great Southern Bank Arena.UNI 13-15 (9-9) went 7-for-7 at the line in the final two-and-a-half minutes which certainly helped the visitors get that opportunity. Meanwhile, the Bears made just one of their last five field goal attempts after Chance Moore’s bucket on a slick pass by Alston Mason gave MSU a 60-53 lead with 5:24 remaining.Just before the two-minute mark, Damien Mayo Jr., scored on a layup high off the glass to give the Bears a 64-60 cushion. UNI quickly responded with a layup from Michael Duax to cut it to two, then rallied behind a traditional three-point play from Bowen Born on its next possession to take the lead.Missouri State (14-14, 10-8 MVC) tried to lob inside to Jonathan Mogbo on its next trip down the floor but turned it over in traffic. Chance Moore’s steal moments later gave the Bears another chance to retake the lead before his potential go-ahead trey caromed out.Later, Moore got to the line for three shots with 7.5 seconds left in the game and the Bears down by three. He made two-of-three from the stripe, which forced MSU to foul again, and Born converted both subsequent free throws for the Panthers.Just before the final buzzer, Mason’s potential tying three also looked online for the Bears, but it rimmed out as time expired.Chance Moore’s 17 points led Missouri State, while Donovan Clay scored 11, and Kendle Moore added 10. Mason and Chance Moore led MoState with 6 rebounds each.UNI got 21 points from Born, 17 from Duax and 12 points with 12 rebounds from Tytan Anderson.For the game, Missouri State finished 22-of-53 (.415) overall, and 8-of-27 (.296) from bonus distance. The Bears were also 14-of-22 (636) at the foul line with just 8 turnovers and a 33-32 rebounding edge. MoState shot just 31.8 percent from the second half.Clay had a game-high 6 assists for the Bears with a pair of blocks.Northern Iowa was 25-of-52 (.481) overall, 7-of-18 (.389) from distance and 12-of-16 (.750) at the line with 9 turnovers.In the first half, there were eight ties and three lead changes with a 10-3 Bears run late in the half pushing MSU up 36-31 with 1:37 left before the half. The run included threes from Kendle Moore and Chance Moore and ultimately pushed the Bears ahead 38-33 at the intermission behind a 48-percent field goal percentage.The Bears conclude their home slate on Tuesday at 6 p.m. with a nationally-televised game against Murray State at Great Southern Bank Arena.
