EVANSVILLE, Ind. – Michael Osei-Bonsu registered his third double-double of the season with 10 points and 12 rebounds on his birthday here Sunday, but it was not enough as the Bears fell to Evansville, 57-40, in MSU’s first Valley road game of the season.
The Bears (7-6, 0-2) also got 12 points from Dez White, including three of the team’s five 3-pointers on the afternoon.
Hughes tacked on 11 points and 9 rebounds, and Tanner cuff scored 10 for the Aces.
The Bears trailed by three at the half and quickly knotted the score on a 3-pointer from Zaxton King coming out of the break. Osei-Bonsu’s stick-back 75 seconds later answered a Haffner three and made it a one-point contest.
Evansville the embarked on an 8-0 run over the next two-and-a-half minutes to lead by nine at the 16-minute mark, before an Osei-Bonsu hook shot and triple by White trimmed MSU’s deficit to four.
Just before the under-12 break, a double-technical sparked a 6-0 outburst from the home side to extend Evansville’s lead to double digits for the first time, 40-30.
MSU would trim the deficit to 40-36 with 8:39 to play after quick mini-run of its own with four points at the line and a layup from King. But the Bears scored just two field goals the rest of the way, while the Aces ended the game on a 17-4 run, including three triples, to put things out of reach for the Bears..
The Bears shot season-lows .259 (14-of-54) from the field and .200 (5-of-25) from three, but out-rebounded the Purple Aces, 41-35, while collecting 8 steals and forcing a dozen turnovers.
Evansville finished 18-of-47 (.383) overall from the field, 8-of-22 (.364) from three and 13-for-20 (.650) at the line.
In the first half, Evansville ended the period on an 8-1 run to lead 23-20 at the midway point. The Bears forced 9 UE turnovers and snagged 6 steals while holding the Aces to 39.1 percent from the field but couldn’t find the shooting touch on the offensive end. Dez White racked up a game-high 8 points in the first half, including a pair of threes.
The Bears return to Great Southern Bank Arena on New Year’s Day to square off with Valparaiso at 7 p.m. Tickets for the Valpo game are available at MissouriStateBears.com/tickets or through the Missouri State box office at Great Southern Bank Arena, (417) 836-7678, during regular box office hours.
