Two free throws by Dale Lamberth with 1.7 seconds left on the clock put the cap on a game with no daylight between the two teams for the last 26 minutes of the contest as the Missouri State Bears slipped past the Southern Illinois Salukis 63-62 in a Missouri Valley Conference basketball matchup Wednesday night in Hammons Student Center.
 Trailing by a point, the Bears called their final time out with 10.8 seconds left, and, when Justin Fuehrmeyer missed a shot from the right side, Lamberth collared the rebound under the goal to the left. As Lamberth was going back up for a shot, he was fouled by SIU’s Bryan Mullins. Lamberth calmly planted both free throws and he then intercepted SIU’s inbounds pass at midcourt just ahead of the final horn to seal the issue.
  The Bears climbed to 10-1 at home for the season and 11-9 overall while dropping SIU to 9-10. Both teams balanced their Valley records at 4-4.
 After an uneven start, the game was a chess match for both clubs. SIU jumped out to a 10-0 lead but the Bears roared to life and forged ahead for the first time in the contest at 20-19 with 5:49 remaining in the half. Missouri State stretched that lead to 23-19, SIU tied it at 23-23, and the game saw nine more ties and 22 lead changes over the last 25 minutes. Over those last 25 minutes, neither team led by more than three points and most of the time it was tied or a one-point game.
 SIU shot well all night, connecting on 60 percent from the field the first half with a final .537 (22/41) figure for the ballgame. The Bears didn’t, finishing at just .370 (20/54) from the field for the contest, but pounded the glass for 18 offensive rebounds and amassed a 36-21 overall rebound margin. It was the Bears’ second biggest rebound bulge in 20 games this season. Lamberth paced the Bears with nine boards and Chris Cooks had seven. Both teams were effective from the foul line with SIU at .867 (13/15) and Missouri State at .833 (20/24).
  Lamberth got 16 of his game-high 24 points in the final half and had scoring help from Chris Cooks with 12 points and Spencer Laurie with 11. SIU was again led by its veteran trio as Matt Shaw scored 18, Mullins added 12 and Randal Falker collected 10. Mullins added four rebounds, nine assists and three steals to the Saluki effort.
 The Bears have alternately lost and won through their eight conference games this season and go back on the road Saturday (Jan. 26) for the first of two matchups against the University of Evansville. Tipoff is at 7:30.
 
