ST. LOUIS — Missouri State guard Chance Moore (Jr., Brookhaven, Ga.) was named Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Week, the league announced Monday (Feb. 5).
Moore had a pair of breakout games to lift the Bears to a 2-0 week and extend their Valley win streak to four straight.
He had game highs 23 points and 13 rebounds to lift MSU to a comeback win over Belmont on Saturday, converting 9-of-12 field goals and 3-of-5 3-pointers off the bench to go with a block and a steal. His steal and dunk play with 7:41 to go in the contest tied the game just ahead of his go-ahead 3-pointer 27 seconds later. Moore and Alston Mason ignited a decisive 10-0 run down the stretch to secure the win for the Bears.
Earlier in the week, Moore’s 13-point effort off the bench at Southern Illinois on Wednesday ignited MSU’s come-from-behind victory in Carbondale, including a 5-of-6 effort from the field and 2-of-2 performance from 3-point range. His offensive rebound and stick-back with 20 seconds left in regulation tied the game and forced overtime, and later his triple with less than 2 minutes to go in OT pushed the Bears ahead for good. For the week, Moore averaged 18.0 points and 8.5 rebounds per game while shooting an impressive 77.8 percent from the field (14-of-18), 71.4 percent from three (5-of-7) and 75.0 percent at the line (3-of-4) with 2 blocks and 3 steals.
He joins teammates Mason (Dec. 27 and Jan. 29) and Matthew Lee (Nov. 27) on the list of Bears honored as MVC Player of the Week this season.
Also honored on Monday were MVC Newcomer of the Week Ryan Conwell of Indiana State and MVC Freshman of the Week Kevin Overton of Drake.
The Bears are back in action Wednesday at Northern Iowa (7 p.m./ESPN+) before returning to Great Southern Bank Arena on Saturday at 1 p.m. for a showdown against MVC frontrunner Indiana State.
