SPRINGFIELD – With seniors Kabir Mohammed and Keandre Cook nearly posting double-doubles, Missouri State led wire-to-wire here Tuesday in a 73-53 victory over Cleveland State to conclude a three-game home stand.
Cook led all scorers with 19 points to go with 9 rebounds, while Mohammed added 9 points and a career-high 11 boards for Missouri State (2-1). Tulio Da Silva added 13 points, with Lamont West contributing 10 for the home side.
Cleveland State (1-2), which collected 31 bench points on the night, got 10 points apiece from reserves Tyrese Potoma and Daylen Williams.
Coach Dana Ford’s squad scored the first eight points of the game and led 13-2 just over six minutes into the contest. Cook’s traditional three-point play at the five-minute mark gave MSU a 30-12 advantage for its biggest lead of the opening half.
Missouri State pushed ahead 39-23 at the intermission before Josh Hall gave the Bears a 20-point lead for the first time on a free throw with 16:20 left in the second period. Midway through the final half, a 7-2 outburst by the home side included a 15-foot jumper by West, a triple from Cook and a layup from Da Silva to give the Bears their biggest lead of the contest, 62-38.
With six minutes remaining, and foul counts racking up on both sides, the Vikings used a 6-0 run over a two-minute stretch to get back within 65-49. However, Mohammed and Cook responded with big free throws to restore order before freshmen Isiaih Mosley and Ja’Monta Black finished things out in the final two minutes to give Missouri State a needed 20-point home victory.
The game also saw the debut of fellow freshman Ford Cooper Jr., who played 17 minutes and knocked down his first career 3-pointer for the Bears.
Missouri State finished 20-of-53 (.377) overall, 5-of-17 (.294) from long range and 28-of-36 (.778) at the stripe with a 49-35 rebounding advantage. The Bears also collected 11 steals and forced 16 turnovers.
The teams combined for 45 fouls, which led to 59 total free throws in the game. Da Silva was 9-for-13 at the stripe to lead all players with Cook and Mohammed making five charity shots apiece. CSU’s Hugo Ferreira was 7-for-10 at the line to lead the visitors.
MSU’s victory evened the all-time series between the former Mid-Continent Conference foes, 9-9. The squads had not met since the Bears departed the league to join the Missouri Valley Conference in 1990.
The Bears will play their next four games away from home before returning to JQH Arena on Dec. 3 against Murray State. MSU will begin the four-game road swing Friday (6 p.m.) at No. 21 Xavier (3-0) in a game that will air regionally on FOX Sports Midwest Plus.
Tickets for the Murray State game, and all home contests, are available at MissouriStateBears.com, or by visiting the Old Missouri Bank Box Office at JQH Arena, (417) 836-7678, during ticket office hours.
