SPRINGFIELD – Missouri State got a career-high 25 points from Cesare Edwards as part of a season-best 38 bench points for the Bears, but Bowen Born’s corner three-pointer with 96 seconds left in the game proved to be the difference maker in a tough 64-62 home loss to Northern Iowa here Wednesday.
The Panthers (7-7, 1-2 MVC) extended their league-best win streak to four straight behind Born’s 21 points, including 12 in the second half. UNI also out-rebounded the Bears by a 37-29 margin with 11 offensive boards leading to 15 critical second-chance points.
“We just didn’t get enough stops,” said Bears head coach Dana Ford. “They’re tough to defend, and we let Born get loose in the corner and he made us pay.”
The UNI standout was 1-for-4 from beyond the arc prior to the game-winner, which put the visitors ahead 63-59.
Missouri State (9-5, 1-2 MVC) responded with a 3-pointer of its own from Alston Mason with 34.6 seconds left to make it a 63-62 game. Needing to give themselves enough time for a last possession, the Bears fouled Nate Heise with 12.9 ticks remaining. Heise made the front end, but missed the second, giving Missouri State a chance to tie or take the lead.
After a key rebound from Donovan Clay, the Bears pushed the ball up for an open three from Nick Kramer from the left corner as the final horn sounded, but the potential game-winner caromed out.
In his first game of extended time on the floor, Kramer finished with 10 points, including a pair of 3-pointers and a 2-for-2 effort at the line in 19 minutes. Alston Mason was also in double figures for the Bears with 12 points.
The disappointing ending soured a remarkable comeback by the Bears after they trailed by 13 in the early going and took the lead for the first time on a traditional three-point play from Edwards with 8:13 remaining in the game. UNI regained the advantage, but the Bears snagged the lead back on a triple by Kramer at the 5:07 mark.
There would be five more lead changes down the stretch with Edwards knocking down a pair of key jumpers that gave MoState a pair of one-point leads at 57-56 and 59-58. With just over two minutes to play, Born’s corner triple was rejected by Clay, but Born skirted around Clay to gather in his own miss and knocked down a short baseline jumper to put UNI up 60-59.
That second-chance bucket proved key as the Bears couldn’t answer on their next trip with Matthew Lee’s jumper coming up short, and the Panthers responding with the game-winning triple by Born out of the right corner at the 1:36 mark.
UNI was just 3-of-15 (.200) from 3-point range for the game and shot 44.3 percent overall on 27-of-61 shots.
Jacob Hutson was also in double figures for UNI with 19 points of 8-of-12 shots.
The Bears nearly matched UNI’s efficiency from the field after a slow start, making 23-of-53 (.434) overall and 6-of-26 (.231) from long range, while making 10-of-12 (.833) at the foul line with just 9 turnovers.
Edwards also led MSU in rebounds with 8, while Clay finished with 6 points and 6 boards.
In the opening half, the Panthers made 10 of their first 12 field goal attempts to rocket out of the gates to a 22-9 lead less than 8 minutes in. But redshirt freshman Kramer checked in for the Bears who switched defenses and a 13-4 run ensued for the home club.
Kramer tallied 7 of MSU’s next 9 points, and the Bears forced six turnovers in a six-minute stretch to make a game of it. MoState would trim UNI’s lead to two on three occasions, first on a layup by Edwards, then on runner by Mason, and finally on a triple by Mason that made it 31-29 with 40 seconds to go before the intermission.
The Panthers made two free throws just before the half to lead 33-29 at the midway point but converted just 3-of-14 from the field after the hot start.
The UNI victory was its seventh at Great Southern Bank Arena by three points or less and third in a row.
The Bears will take to the road on Saturday for a 3 p.m. start at Bradley before returning to Great Southern Bank Arena next Wednesday (Jan. 10) to host Murray State at 7 p.m.
