Highlights:
Dana Ford postgame:
SPRINGFIELD – Missouri State fought first-place Indiana State through 10 ties and 17 lead changes here Saturday, but the Sycamores got a baseline jumper from Isaiah Swope with 20.8 seconds left to swing the momentum back to the visitors for good in a 73-71 heartbreaker at Great Southern Bank Arena.
The Bears (14-11, 6-8 MVC) got three points from Matthew Lee in the closing moments to trim their final deficit to two points in a game they never trailed by more than five.
Alston Mason led Missouri State with 26 points, while N.J. Benson contributed 11 points and 13 rebounds for his fifth double-double of the season, and Damien Mayo Jr. scored 11 points with 6 rebounds on his 20th birthday.
Ryan Conwell led four Indiana State (22-3, 13-1) players in double figures with 24 points behind 6-of-10 3-pointers, while Swope made five threes and finished with 19.
After leading by one at the half, the Bears opened the second half on a 6-3 surge with Benson flushing two at the rim. Two minutes later, Mayo’s tip-in pushed the home club ahead 46-41 at the 15-minute mark.
Heading into the under-12 media timeout, the Bears missed a pair of free throws, but survived a 9-1 Sycamores run with a clutch triple from Mason that knotted things up, 52-52, at the 12:34 mark.
Neither team led by more than three until the final minute, and a Bears’ layup from Cesare Edwards with 3:24 to play drew MSU within 69-68. But the Bears would miss their next three field goal attempts in crunch time to let the Trees off the hook.
Swope’s bucket in the final minute gave the visitors a 73-68 advantage. But a free throw by Lee and a missed foul shot by ISU’s Conwell moments later opened the door for the Bears with 14 seconds to play. However, before the Bears could get an offensive opportunity, Swope picked Mason’s pocket in the backcourt, forcing the Bears to foul him in order to preserve hope. Swope’s ensuing free throw missed, and Lee converted a last-second layup as the buzzer sounded.
Using a stingy zone defense, Missouri State held Indiana State to just 12-of-40 (.300) from 3-point range on the afternoon with Swope and Conwell combining to go 11-for-27 from long distance.
Missouri State was 26-for-63 (.413) from the field overall, 4-of-20 (.200) from 3-point range, and 15-for-21 (.714) at the foul line with a 42-35 rebounding advantage. The Bears blocked 6 shots and turned the ball over just four times in the second half.
ISU was 28-of-64 (.438) overall from the field and 5-of-10 (.500) at the free throw line with Julian Larry providing 7 of the team’s 16 assists.
The Bears emerged with the lead after a flamboyant first half that saw four ties and 10 lead changes in the first 20 minutes. MoState jumped out to a 9-1 lead in the first four minutes and held that margin with leads of 11-3 and 13-5. The Sycamores then drained three triples on an 11-2 surge to push ahead 16-15 at the 12:42 mark.
Before the intermission, it was Lee’s 3-pointer and traditional three-point play that helped the Bears retake the advantage with Clay’s two free throws in the final minute giving the home side a narrow 36-35 margin. MSU out-rebounded ISU 20-17 in the first half.
The Bears travel to Murray State on Wednesday (7 p.m./ESPN+) before returning to Great Southern Bank Arena next Saturday to square off Valparaiso on the team’s annual Rebound Foundation Game.
