SPRINGFIELD – A layup from Illinois State’s Chase Walker with 3.8 seconds left in the game pushed the visiting Redbirds past Missouri State, 70-68, here Saturday at Great Southern Bank Arena.
On their senior night, the Bears (9-20, 2-16 MVC) erased an 11-point second-half deficit to lead 64-62 on an elbow jumper by Chase Martin with just over three minutes to play and battled through three more ties down the stretch, including a clutch, game-tying layup by Dez White with 22.6 seconds left that made it 68-68.
ISU called a timeout with 17.4 ticks on the clock and set up the go-ahead play to Walker who made just two field goals on the night. White’s desperation three at the buzzer for Missouri State was off its mark, resulting in MSU’s eighth conference loss by two possessions or less and 10th Valley defeat by single digits.
Saturday’s contest featured 13 ties and six lead changes.
Martin and Vincent Brady II led Missouri State with 15 points apiece, while White caught fire in the final seven minutes to finish with 12 points. Michael Osei-Bonsu was the game’s top rebounder, posting 12 caroms and a team-high 4 assists.
Illinois State (17-12, 9-9 MVC) got 16 points from Dalton Banks, 14 from Johnny Kinziger and 13 by Jordan Davis. Banks also dished out a game-high 8 assists with no turnovers for the Redbirds.
After leading by three points at the intermission, ISU started the second half on an 8-0 run to lead 43-32 and force a Missouri State timeout less than two minutes into the final period.
From there, the home club scratched its way back to within five points of the lead on four occasions before finally breaking through on a steal and layup by White at the 7:03 mark to make it a three-point game. Less than 30 seconds later, White tied it up, 58-58, with his second 3-pointer of the game.
Heading into the under-four media timeout, the Bears took the lead for the first time since early in the first half. Brady’s two free throws tied the game up before White’s driving layup gave the Bears a 62-60 advantage. MoState then broke another tie on Martin’s clutch jumper at the 3:22 mark that gave the Bears a late lead, 64-62.
However, Illinois State converted its last four field goal attempts of the game to snatch victory away from the Bears down the stretch, including Walker’s game-winner and two lead-up buckets from Davis. Davis’ long jumper with 2:48 to go barely beat the shot clock and proved to be pivotal.
For the contest, the Bears were 22-of-52 (.423) from the field, 7-of-20 (.350) from long range and 17-for-22 (.773) at the free throw line with a 33-25 rebounding advantage that limited ISU to just five second-chance points.
Missouri State’s 26 bench points matched its second-highest total of the season.
Illinois State finished 27-for-52 (.519) overall, 9-for-28 (.321) from bonus distance, and 7-for-12 (.583) at the line with 17 assists and a dozen turnovers. The Redbirds attempted 20 threes in the opening half, making seven, and attempted just eight in the second half.
The teams battled through seven ties and four lead changes in the opening half with the Redbirds shooting 50 percent from the field to take a 35-32 advantage.
The Bears got 8 points apiece from Brady and Martin to spark the home side. Those two, plus Osei-Bonsu, each played a hand in tying the game three times in the final four minutes of the opening stanza before the Redbirds ended the period on a 4-1 run to lead by three at the break.
The Bears close out their 2024-25 home slate on Wednesday when they welcome Belmont to Great Southern Bank Arena at 7 p.m.
