SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – Missouri State got a career-high 21 points from Chris Kendrix and never trailed here Tuesday in a 77-71 win over Bradley at JQH Arena.
Kendrix led four MSU players in double figures in the scoring column, with Camyn Boone chipping in 18 points, 8 rebounds and 4 assists to help the Bears (10-13, 6-5 MVC) sweep their two-game Missouri Valley Conference home stand.
Bradley (3-21, 1-10) was led by Dwayne Lautier-Ogunleye with 20 points, while Luuk Van Bree added 18 points for the visitors.
The Bears stormed out of the gates to a 20-2 advantage in the first nine-and-a-half minutes of the game and fought off a late surge by the Braves to hang on late. In between, MSU made a season-high 30 free throws and converted 81 percent from the stripe to ward off any hopes of a Bradley comeback.
Bradley, which trailed by as many as 18, climbed back within 73-71 with 42 seconds remaining after converting four field goals, a pair of 3-pointers and a couple of free throws in the final five minutes. The Bears, however, kept their composure and answered the challenge with a high floater from Kendrix as the shot clock expired at the 1:42 mark and four straight free throws by Dorrian Williams and Jarred Dixon in the deciding moments to seal the win.
Dixon, this week’s MVC Newcomer of the Week, posted his fifth straight double-figure scoring effort with 10 points, while Williams scored 12 to mark his highest point output of the conference season.
For its part, Bradley was also efficient from the line, converting 17-of-21 (.810) from the stripe while getting four 3-pointers from Lautier-Ogunleye and eight as a team to challenge every Missouri State run.
The Bears out-rebounded the Braves by a 30-24 margin and finished 21-for-49 (.429) from the field and 5-of-14 (.357) from long range with 28 bench points and 8 steals.
Bradley, which went the first 8 minutes, 29 seconds without a field goal, chipped away the rest of the first half to close its deficit to 37-29 at the intermission. The Braves then opened up the second half with treys on their first two possessions to get within 37-35 on deep shots by Lautier-Ogunleye and Van Bree.
MSU used a 15-6 run midway through the half to build its advantage to as many as 13 with Boone surging a personal 5-0 rally before a Kendrix trey made it 55-45. Later, freshman Ryan Kreklow dropped in a triple before a long jumper from Kendrix made it 62-49 with just over 9 minutes left in the game.
The Bears shot 54.5 percent from the field in the second half and forced 16 BU turnovers on the night.
