ST. THOMAS, US Virgin Islands – Missouri State had five players score in double figures, including an impressive 17 points and 16 rebounds from sophomore N.J. Benson, to turn back Abilene Christian, 87-69, here Monday in the championship game of the US Virgin Islands Paradise Jam.
Alston Mason led all Missouri State players with 21 points, while Donovan Clay added 19, Chance Moore scored 17, and tournament MVP Matthew Lee tallied 10 points and 6 assists. Clay joined Lee on the all-tournament team.
Missouri State (4-1) shot 57.7 percent from the field and 74 percent at the line while out-rebounding the Wildcats by a 40-24 margin.
ACU (3-3) was led by Airion Simmons with 24 points, while Hunter Jack Madden scored 14 for the tournament runners-up.
The Bears led by eight at the half, but ACU was up for a scrap, digging into MSU’s lead until making it a one-point game on three occasions in the second half. Immanuel Allen’s layup with 13:55 to play made it a 55-54 game.
But Clay led the Bears’ resurgence, knocking down a trey on MSU’s next possession, then throwing down a dunk in transition moments later. Before holstering his scoring swagger, Clay single-handedly led a 9-1 Bears’ run that made it 64-55 at the 11:33 mark.
The Bears controlled the next four minutes with two dunks from Benson igniting an 8-3 mini-run that lifted them to a 75-61 advantage at the under-eight media timeout. Benson finished the night with five dunks in all.
Allen and Simmons closed the ACU deficit to 10 twice over the next couple of minutes, mounting one last Wildcat attack down the stretch. Simmons’ layup at the 5:44 mark, made it a 78-68 contest, but that was as close as Abilene Christian would get. Missouri State closed out the game on an 11-3 run to secure the title with Mason, Benson, Clay, Moore and Cesare Edwards each contributing scoring plays in crunch time to lift the Bears to victory.
MoState finished the game 30-of-52 (.577) from the field, 7-for-18 (.389) from long range and 20-of-27 (.741) at the foul line with a season-best 46 points in the paint.
In addition to his first career double-double, Benson racked up 3 blocks, 2 steals and an assist, while converting 8-of-10 field goals. Mason dished out 5 assists and knocked down 3 treys, while Clay and Moore paced the Bears with 6 rebounds apiece. Clay was also 7-of-10 from the field to help the winning cause.
Abilene Christian was 25-of-59 (.424) overall, 7-for-16 (.438) from bonus distance and 12-of-19 (.632) at the line with 11 steals. Madden added a game-high 8 rebounds and 3 assists to his scoring arsenal for the Wildcats.
In the first half, the Bears weathered an early 10-point deficit to lead 45-37 at the midway point. Benson helped ignite the comeback, reeling off six of MSU’s 11 points that carried Missouri State from a 19-9 deficit to within 26-20 four minutes later.
From there, back-to-back triples from Mason inched the Bears closer before his free throw at the 4:36 mark tied the game, 35-35, squaring the game up for the first time since it was 2-2.
The Bears outscored ACU 13-2 over the last five minutes of the opening stanza with Moore knocking down a clutch three, Benson throwing down his second dunk of the period, and Lee dropping in four straight free throws. Benson finished the first half with a double-double already in the bank, scoring 11 points with 10 rebounds off the bench in the opening 20 minutes.
The victory in the Paradise Jam marks MSU’s first in-season tournament championship since claiming the Hispanic College Fund Challenge title in 2009-10, the same season that would yield a CIT Postseason Tournament that March.
The red-hot Bears return home Saturday to battle South Carolina State at 1 p.m. Missouri State welcomes back coach Steve Alford and the 1999 Bears for that game, along with the jersey retirement ceremony of Bears’ great Danny Moore at halftime.
