SPRINGFIELD – Vincent Brady II led four Missouri State players in double figures with 21 points here Monday as the Bears defeated visiting Missouri Southern, 90-61, in MSU’s home opener.
Dez White added 16 points for coach Cuonzo Martin‘s squad, while Zaxton King poured in 14 and Chase Martin added 12. Michael Osei-Bonsu also contributed to the winning cause with 13 rebounds, while Mozae Downing-Rivers dished out seven assists with just one turnover.
The Bears (1-1) shot 58.6 percent from the field and scored 46 points in the paint to lead to an efficient offensive performance.
Defensively, Missouri State forced 18 turnovers, including 14 from steals, and held Missouri Southern (0-2) to 34 percent shooting on the night.
After the Bears led by 14 at the half, Missouri Southern cut its deficit to eight points just five minutes into the final period. Brady then ignited a key MSU surge, knocking down back-to-back threes to push the lead back to 14 before Martin’s bucket capped the Bears’ 8-0 run and made it a 16-point game with just over 10 minutes to play.
The Lions rode the shoulders of freshman Tyrique Brooks who led the visitors with 21 points. His dunk-back with 5:23 to go made it a 65-53 game.
But that was as close as Missouri Southern would get. The Bears responded with an 11-2 run over the next two minutes, including an alley-oop dunk by Brady and a triple by Zaxton King that made it 76-55.
MoState closed out the game on a 14-1 run over the final three minutes with third-year man Tommy Pinegar draining his first career three-pointer in the final minute.
For the night, the Bears were 33-of-64 from the field, 7-of-24 (.292) from three and 17-of-27 (.630) from the line with a 44-38 rebounding advantage.
Missouri Southern was 23-of-67 (.343) overall from the field 3-of-25 (.120) from distance and 12-for-15 (.800) at the stripe with nine assists and five blocks.
In the first half, the Bears used a 12-5 surge midway through the opening stanza to gain separation from the Lions with White scoring seven unanswered points for the home side.
White’s traditional three-point play with less than two minutes to go in the opening period gave the Bears their biggest lead of the half, 41-25. White finished the half with 14 points, while added eight.
The Bears play their next two contests at home, including a showdown with regional rival Tulsa this Saturday at 1 p.m.
Tickets for the Tulsa game, and all home contests, are available at MissouriStateBears.com/tickets or by visiting the Missouri State Box Office at Great Southern Bank Arena, (417) 836-7678, during regular box office hours.
