ST. LOUIS — Missouri State got 18 points from Donovan Clay and another double-double from sophomore N.J. Benson, but top-seeded Indiana State used a rugged defense and solid second-half effort to end the Bears’ season here Friday, 75-59.
The Bears (17-16) trailed 34-31 at the half, but the Sycamores (27-5) hit 10 3-pointers for the game and shot 50 percent in the second half to lead by as many as 18 down the stretch.
The Bears, who also got a dozen points from Alston Mason, held their own deep into the second half. Benson’s dunk with 11:47 to go drew the Bears within 54-48 at the time.
ISU’s Robbie Avila responded with a layup for the Sycamores that sparked a 10-2 response from the league’s regular-season champions. MoState was able to post two free throws from Matthew Lee in that stretch, but missed six straight field goal attempts while Indiana State pushed ahead 64-50 with just under seven minutes to go.
Clay would score MSU’s final three field goals of the contest with Mason and Benson adding free throws, but Indiana State’s defense kept the underdog Bears from making a needed run down the stretch. The Bears were 3-of-17 from the field over the last 10 minutes and ISU’s Ryan Conwell and Isaiah Swope brought it home for ISU.
Conwell finished with a game-high 20 points with Avila scoring 14 and Swope producing 13 more. Jayson Kent added 12 points and 14 rebounds for the Sycamores.
Benson’s 12 points and 10 rebounds produced his fifth double-double over his last six appearances for MSU.
The Bears finished 21-of-61 (.344) overall from the field and 3-of-14 (.214) from distance while converting 14-of-18 (.778) free throws. The Bears owned a 39-36 rebounding edge and produced 32 points in the paint.
Missouri State also racked up 7 blocks, including 5 from Benson.
Indiana State 28-of-63 (.444) overall from the field, 10-of-30 (.333) from downtown and 9-of-11 (.818) at the line 10 turnovers.
Clay was 8-of-14 from the field for Missouri State and wrapped up his three seasons in Springfield with 1,065 points in 97 games and 1,676 total points in 160 career games.
In the first half, the Bears rallied from a 10-0 Sycamores run after the under-eight media timeout with a 10-0 outburst of their own and trailed 34-31 at the intermission.
Down 29-17 at the 5:29 mark, Matthew Lee ignited MSU’s 10-0 response with a three from the top of the key before a close-range bucket from Clay, a triple from Raphe Ayres and a layup from Benson to make it a two-point game.
The Bears were whistled for their second technical of the opening half with 1:44 left that gave the Sycamores a bonus point. Ayres’ free throw made it 32-31 before ISU pushed ahead by three on a late layup from Kent.
