NORMAL, Ill. – Illinois State knocked down 15 3-pointers, including 10 in the second half, and overcame an early 13-point lead by visiting Missouri State here Wednesday to defeat the Bears 74-61 in the Missouri Valley Conference opener for both teams.
Illinois State (7-7) was unstoppable from 3-point range in the second half, knocking down two bonus balls in the first minute of the period to take the lead for the first time since the game’s opening moments. The Redbirds would hit 9 of their first 10 from bonus distance in the second stanza and finished the game 15-for-27 (.556), a Redbird Arena record and one shy of an MSU opponent record.
After leading 27-25 at the intermission, MSU (4-9) tied the game twice early in the second half and recaptured the lead twice – both on buckets by Dequon Miller. But a decisive 26-2 ensuing run by the Redbirds put the game out of reach. The Bears scored just one bucket in a seven-and-a-half minute stretch while ISU tallied five 3-pointers in that span, including four by Deontae Hawkins.
Hawkins led ISU with 17 points on 5-of-5 from bonus distance, while DeVaughn Akoon-Purcell came off the bench to score 14 for Illinois State, which improved to 6-2 at home this season.
Missouri State was led by Miller’s 17 points, while Camyn Boone tallied 12 with a game-high 8 rebounds.
ISU out-rebounded the Bears by a 31-26 margin, and both teams committed 12 turnovers.
In the first half, Missouri State used a 13-0 run to overcome an early four-point deficit and never trailed again before the intermission.
A pair of free throws from Miller sandwiched in between two layups by Boone gave the Bears a 21-8 lead with 6:13 left in the opening half – their largest advantage of the game. Illinois State then rallied behind the 3-point shot and knocked down five of them over the next four minutes to tie the game at 25. But two key jumpers late in the half by MSU freshman Jarred Dixon returned the advantage to the visitors before the break, and the Bears held off a last-second shot from ISU to go into the break with a two-point lead.
For the game, Missouri State converted 24-of-51 (.471) shots, went 6-of-13 (.462) from long range and made 7-of-9 (.778) free throws with 7 steals and 26 points in the paint.
After a dismal start from the field, ISU rallied to finish 25-of-51 (.490) from the field and 9-of-14 (.643) from the line with 6 steals and 31 bench points.
The Bears return home Saturday to begin a two-game Valley home stand against Evansville at 3 p.m., in a game that will be televised on FOX Sports Net. Tickets for Saturday’s game are available at MissouriStateBears.com/tickets or on game day only at the MSU Athletics Box Office at JQH Arena.
MSU’s home stand continues on Jan. 6 against Northern Iowa at 7:05 p.m. at The Q.
— MSU Athletics —