SPRINGFIELD – In its long-awaited return to Great Southern Bank Arena on Saturday, Missouri State ran into a determined Bradley squad and couldn’t seem to gain a foothold against the more-experienced Braves in a 58-40 MVC setback.
The Bears (4-4, 1-1 MVC) shot just 31.4 percent from the field but made up for it early with several key defensive stands and solid rebounding. The game was tied, 8-8, eight minutes in, before the visitors ultimately used the three ball to gain separation and take a low-scoring 26-18 lead into the intermission.
Jonathan Mogbo, who had a dunk for the first points of the game, led the home side with five points in the opening stanza. Bradley’s only two treys of the opening period came in the final four minutes with Christian Davis and Connor Hickman giving the Braves (6-3, 2-0 MVC) an 11-point lead at the 2:32 mark with back-to-back triples.
Bradley went to all-conference post Rienk Mast early and often in the second half as the 6-foot-9 junior accounted for six of the Braves’ first eight points of the final period and pushed them up 34-22 with his hook shot at the 17-minute mark.
Missouri State seemed to steady its ship shortly thereafter as Kendle Moore and Bryan Trimble Jr. hit back-to-back 3-pointers to get the Bears back within 36-28. At the midway point, Moore’s steal and layup preceded a layup by Dawson Carper that cut MSU’s deficit to 39-32.
But Bradley would bury five 3-pointers in the next seven minutes to take away any momentum the Bears had. By the time, the dust settled, Bradley finished out a 19-4 run with Hickman’s second triple of the evening, giving the Braves their largest lead of the night, 58-36.
Alston Mason scored Missouri State’s final four points to trim the game’s final margin.
Coming off a four-game, nine-day road swing, Missouri State finished 16-of-51 from the field, 2-of-15 (.133) from long range and 6-of-11 (.545) at the line with 13 turnovers.
Bradley out-rebounded the Bears by a 22-12 margin in the second half and 39-27 overall.
Mast was the game’s only double-figure scorer with 15 points on 6-of-11 from the field, while Malevy Leons tallied 8 points and 10 boards for the visitors.
Kendle Moore and N.J. Benson led Missouri State with 7 points apiece, while Donovan Clay’s 6 rebounds was tops among all Bears.
Missouri State returns to the road on Wednesday for its second trip in as many seasons at Saint Mary’s for a 9 p.m. (Central) game against the Gaels in Moraga, Calif.
