SPRINGFIELD – Missouri State got a game-high 22 points from Keith Palek III and 14 more from Zaxton King and Kobi Williams to help turn back visiting FIU, 79-71, here Saturday afternoon in Conference USA action.
The Bears (10-6, 4-1 CUSA) out-rebounded the Panthers by a 40-33 margin, including a game-high 11 caroms collected by sophomore Darrion Sutton. It marked the fourth time in five league games – and ninth time this season — that MSU has out-rebounded its opponent.
FIU (9-7, 2-3 CUSA) got 18 points from Julian Mackey off the bench to lead five players in double figures, while Eric Dibami logged 10 points and a team-high 8 rebounds to go with 3 steals for the visitors.
After leading by five at the midway point, the Bears opened the second half with a quick 9-0 blitz in the first two minutes to force an FIU timeout. A pair of jump shots by Palek, a stick-back by Antwan Burnett and three free throws by Kobi Williams extend MSU’s lead to 44-30, its largest of the game.
From there, the Bears seemed to have an answer for ever Panthers’ run, usually from long range. Both of Trey Williams’ second-half triples came at key points – first at 12:37 after FIU had closed the gap to eight, and later with 6:10 remaining after the Panthers had scratched their way back within 62-60.
In crunch time, it was King who delivered from downtown, burying a trey from the top of the key to extend a 71-67 advantage to seven with just under two minutes to go.
A minute later it was Sutton who elevated off a Kobi Williams miss and dunked it back to make it a 76-67 game with a minute to go. MoState was able to hold off the Panthers down the stretch and improved to 9-2 at Great Southern Bank Arena this season.
The Bears finished 25-of-53 (.472) from the field, 10-of-31 (.323) from 3-point range and 19-for-31 (.613) at the foul line with 18 assists and 18 second-chance points.
Trey Williams added 10 points for the home club, contributing 3 assists, 3 threes, and 2 steals to the winning cause.
FIU was 28-for-63 (.444) overall, 4-for-18 (.222) from distance and 11-of-19 (.579) at the stripe with 42 points in the paint, the second-most by a Bears opponent this season.
In the first half, the Bears held the Panthers to 35 percent shooting and used an early 15-0 run over a five-minute stretch to push ahead 17-6 by the under-12 media timeout. MoState’s lead swelled to 19-7 on a second-chance bucket by Melakih Cunningham at the 11-minute mark before FIU ended a six-minute field goal draught and began chipping away.
Palek, who led all players with 10 first-half points, knocked down a 3-pointer at the five-minute mark to push MoState ahead 30-19 before the visitors ended the half on an 11-5 surge to make it a 35-30 game at the intermission.
Cuonzo Martin’s Bears now embark on a rare four-game conference road swing, starting Wednesday at Western Kentucky. The squad’s next home game is on Wednesday, Jan. 28 vs. Sam Houston (7 p.m.) with a special halftime performance by the Master of Simon Sez Steve Max.
