VALPARAISO, Ind. – Alston Mason tallied 22 points, and Donovan Clay added 18 more in his return to his previous school to lift Missouri State to an 81-70 Missouri Valley Conference road win here Saturday.
The Bears (12-9, 4-6 MVC) also got help picking up their second straight conference victory from Cesare Edwards, who notched his first career double-double with 16 points and 11 rebounds, while NJ Benson added 11 points and 9 rebounds.
The Bears held Valpo (6-15, 2-8 MVC) to 35.5 percent from the field and used a 26-5 run to early in the second half to gain an 18-point advantage with just over eight minutes to play, which would match MSU’s largest lead of the game.
During a key 12-0 Bears’ run midway through the final period, Mason hit a clutch three and logged a flashy steal and layup before Edwards ended the run with a free throw and short jumper. By the time the smoke cleared, the Bears had extended a three-point advantage to 59-44 with 11:13 remaining.
Kaspar Sepp responded to the MSU run with a short jumper for Valpo, which ended a stint of more than eight minutes the Beacons endured without a field goal.
Valpo made five threes in the final five minutes of the contest to keep MSU’s biggest lead of the game at 18. The home club finished the day 10-of-25 (.400) from bonus range with four players logging multiple treys.
Darius DeAveiro led Valpo with 20 points, while Jahari Williamson scored 19, and Cooper Schweiger added 10.
The Bears finished the afternoon 33-of-71 (.465) from the field, 7-of-15 (.467) from long range, and 8-for-12 (.667) from the line with a dominant 48-33 rebounding advantage. The Bears also tallied 18 assists, including a career-high 9 from Mason, while returning seven Beacon shots to sender.
Missouri State also registered 44 points in the paint with Edwards sparking 20 bench points for the visitors.
Valparaiso was 22-of-62 (.355) overall from the field, 16-of-18 (.889) from the line with 8 blocks.
In the opening half, the Bears sustained a couple of runs from the Beacons and battled through five ties and 10 lead changes to lead 40-37 at the midway point. Clay’s 11 first-half points paced the visitors, while Mason and Benson helped MSU close out the period on a 10-5 run over the last five minutes and change.
The Beacons made six threes in the opening half to lead by as many as six with DeAveiro knocking down three of his four triples in the first 20 minutes.
MSU concludes its two-game Valley road swing Wednesday at Southern Illinois (7 p.m., ESPN+) before returning home on Saturday, Feb. 3 to do battle with Belmont at 1 p.m. with an appearance from Chiefs mascot KC Wolf.
Tickets for the Belmont game are available at MissouriStateBears.com or by visiting the Great Southern Bank Box Office, (417) 836-7678, during regular business hours.
