Alize Johnson’s layup with 12 seconds remaining helped guide the Missouri State Bears to a 69-65 comeback win over Manhattan here Tuesday afternoon in the second round of the Gulf Coast Showcase.
Johnson led all scorers with 17 points and finished a perfect 7-for-7 at the line. MSU also got 12 points apiece from J.T. Miller and Obediah Church who each added five field goals.
The Bears (3-2) led for the game’s first 10 minutes, but fell behind after the Jaspers’ amped up their full-court pressure to take MSU of its offensive rhythm. However, with just over six minutes to go in the game, Obediah Church’s dunk in transition brought Missouri State all the way back from a nine-point deficit to tie the game at 57.
Manhattan (3-2) recaptured the lead briefly, but the game’s final four minutes belonged to the Bears. Ronnie Rousseau III knocked down two key free throws to get MSU closer before Miller tied the game, 61-61, on a running floater with just 3:45 to play.
Church added another big dunk a minute later to give the Bears their first lead since the opening half, but the Jaspers tied it again after Rich Williams was fouled by Miller and made both free throws. With 1:44 to play, Johnson scored on a put-back off a missed corner three by Kreklow to put MSU up 65-63.
That score held up until the final 40 seconds when Manhattan’s Williams tied the game again on a challenged 15-foot jumper to make it 65-65. The Bears called a timeout at the 28-second mark to set up what proved to be the winning play – Johnson’s layup with a dozen ticks to go.
Manhattan used its final timeout at 5.3 seconds before the final buzzer, but the Bears snuffed out the set play, and Kreklow gathered in a loose ball to end the threat. He iced the game’s final two free throws to help hand Missouri State a four-point victory.
MSU held the Jaspers to just 29 percent shooting in the second half and forced seven turnovers in that span to set up the comeback. The Bears also scored 13 second-half field goals compared to just seven by Manhattan.
Church scored all 12 of his points in the final stanza, going 5-for-5 from the field with 5 caroms and a pair of blocks down the stretch. For his part, Johnson was also key in the clutch, making 4-of-6 second-half shots while helping MSU out-rebound MC by a 22-15 margin in that span.
For the game, the Bears finished 24-of-55 (.436) overall from the field and a season-best 20-of-25 (.800) at the foul line. MSU also enjoyed a 37-29 rebounding advantage with just 11 turnovers in a defensive-oriented contest.
After firing an impressive 55 percent from the field in the first half, Manhattan finished 23-for-53 (.434) from the field and 8-of-19 (.421) from bonus distance. The Jaspers got 15 points apiece from Aaron Walker and Rich Williams in a solid team effort.
The Bears will now take on Florida Atlantic (2-2) Wednesday at 12:30 p.m. (Central) in the tournament’s consolation championship game.
