CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. – Missouri State (5-2) led wire to wire and got 18 points and 13 rebounds from junior Alize Johnson to lead the Bears to a 79-71 road win against in-state rival Southeast Missouri State (4-5) here Wednesday.
The Bears scored the first six points of the game, fired an impressive 51.9 percent from the field and converted 80 percent at the line in the win.
It was the 146th meeting between the schools in a series that dates back to 1911.
Dequon Miller added 17 points, Austin Ruder scored 16, and Jarrid Rhodes tallied 10 points in a starting role for Missouri State, which out-rebounded the Redhawks by a 42-29 margin.
Antonius Cleveland led Southeast with 20 points, while Denzel Mahoney dumped in 14 for the home side.
After leading by three at the break, Ryan Kreklow ignited an 8-0 run over a three-minute span to push the visitors ahead by nine. Kreklow’s trey from the left wing was followed by a transition jumper by Miller, a dunk by Rhodes and a free throw by Jarred Dixon to make it 41-32 with just under 15 minutes to play.
SEMO used a 7-3 run to crawl back within 44-39 before the under-12 media timeout, but MSU responded with a layup by Chris Kendrix, a triple by Ruder and a stick-back by Jordan Martin to end the home team’s threat.
With 6:14 to play, Ruder knocked down a long 3-pointer from the right side to give the Bears a double-figure advantage, 60-48, which Missouri State parlayed into three different 14-point leads down the stretch.
The Redhawks dropped in three treys in the final three minutes to keep things respectable, but MSU was 9-for-12 at the foul line in that same span to put it on ice.
In the first half, the Bears parlayed the fast start into an 11-point advantage just nine minutes into the game. Ruder started a 10-0 run for the Bears with a corner trey and added a three-shot free throw opportunity to the stretch to make it 16-5 at the 11:13 mark.
Later in the half, the Redhawks turned up the intensity on the defensive end and held MSU to just two field goals over the last five-and-a-half minutes. Southeast got as close as 27-25 before going into the locker room down 29-26.
The Bears finished the game 27-of-52 from the field, 5-of-14 (.357) from bonus distance and 20-of-25 at the stripe with 42 rebounds – 12 offensive – and 25 bench points.
Southeast made 24-of-62 (.387) shots overall, 8-of-26 (.308) from long range and 15-of-23 (.652) at the stripe with 29 rebounds and 9 steals.
MSU was without starters Obediah Church and Ronnie Rousseau III who were nursing minor injuries.
The Bears return to action Saturday for a “Black Out” game against Valparaiso (7-2) at 7 p.m.
— MSU Athletics —
