SPRINGFIELD – Isiaih Mosley fired in a career-high 43 points, including 27 in the second half, but it was not quite enough as the homestanding Missouri State Bears fell, 85-84, to visiting Northern Iowa here Saturday in a thrilling MVC matchup at JQH Arena.
Mosley’s output marked the third-highest scoring total in Missouri State history and most in the club’s Division I era. He finished 16-for-24 from the field, 5-of-10 from long range, and also posted team highs with 9 rebounds and 4 assists.
UNI (7-7, 3-1 MVC) was led by A.J. Green’s 33 points, while Noah Carter added 16.
There were nine ties and 10 lead changes in the contest, and it felt like two heavyweight fighters going toe-to-toe in the middle of the ring as the game came down the stretch.
The Bears held UNI without a field goal for more than three-and-a-half minutes late in the game, as the visitors scored solely on free throws from the 6:50 mark until Trae Berhow’s running layup tied the game, 72-72, with just over three minutes remaining.
Green and Mosley then did the heavy lifting for their respective teams with Green putting UNI up 76-73 on a mid-range jumper with just under two minutes to go, before Mosley sank his fourth 3-pointer of the game moments later to knot things up, 76-76, with 1:34 to play.
On UNI’s next possession, the Panthers got a fortuitous offensive rebound out of bounds after a long video review awarded the ball to the visitors. The call gave Green a chance to sell a three-shot foul with just under a minute remaining that also resulted in the fifth foul on Bears point guard Lu’Cye Patterson. Green made all three free throws to gave UNI a three-point lead.
With 31 seconds left, Mosley fired up a potential game-tying three, which rimmed out, and the Bears had to foul Green again to stop the clock. The MVC Preseason Player of the Year pushed his team ahead, 81-76, after he made both subsequent free throws.
Still, the Bears kept clawing as Mosley added two free throws of his own at the 22-second mark to close the deficit to three, and later Ja’Monta Black nailed a deep 3-pointer to make it a two-point game, 83-81, with 11 seconds to go.
UNI’s Bowen Born then iced the two biggest free throws of his career with 10 seconds to play, making it an 85-81 contest, before Mosley dropped in his fifth trey of the game just before the final buzzer.
UNI was 20-of-22 from the free throw line in the second half alone, including 21 charity shots in the final six-plus minutes. Meanwhile, the Bears made 4-of-6 from the line in that same span, but kept things close by making four of their last six field goal attempts in crunch time.
For the game, the Bears were 30-of-58 (.517) from the field, 12-for-27 (.444) from long range and 12-for-17 (.706) at the foul line with 28 rebounds and just four turnovers.
Ja’Monta Black added 12 points for Missouri State with four triples, while Gaige Prim scored 11 points and snagged 5 boards.
Northern Iowa finished 29-for-56 (.518) overall, 5-for-20 (.250) from distance and 22-of-26 (.846) at the line with 30 rebounds and four turns. The Panthers also racked up 34 points in the paint and 11 second-chance points on 7 offensive rebounds.
Green logged an arena-record 29 points in the second half, going 7-of-11 from the field and 13-of-14 at the line in the final 20 minutes after drawing nine fouls.
In the first half, Mosley scored 16 points, including a jumper with 6 seconds left, to push Missouri State ahead 34-33 at the midway point. He also hit two of MSU’s six first-half 3-pointers.
The Bears used a flurry of threes to gain their biggest lead of the opening stanza, 23-12, after triples by Mosley, Jaylen Minnett and Donovan Clay gave the Bears an 11-point cushion with 10:44 remaining. Later, Mosley’s trey at the 6:03 mark put the maroon side up 30-20 before a 10-0 Panther run – led by Austin Phyfe and Burhow — tied things up four minutes later.
Mosley had two clutch jumpers for MSU in the final 67 seconds of the half, to give the home side a narrow one-point lead at the intermission.
The Bears look to bounce back on Wednesday night when they close out their two-game home stand at 7 p.m. against rival Southern Illinois.
