SPRINGFIELD -- Sparked by a career-high 22 points from junior Jermaine Mallett, the Missouri State Bears (17-8, 7-7) notched a 77-72 win over visiting Southern Illinois at JQH Arena on Wednesday in a Missouri Valley Conference thriller.
Mallett was 11-for-11 at the free throw line, including four straight in the final 14 seconds, to break an arena record, while his game-high nine rebounds helped the Bears claim a 31-25 rebounding edge.
After Mallett's put-back to start the second half put MSU up 43-33, the Salukis (13-11, 5-9) stormed back with a 22-3 run over the next seven-and-a-half minutes to take a 55-46 lead. Justin Bocot's four-point play with 11:09 to go in the game hushed the crowd of 7,088 and gave SIU its biggest lead of the game.
Adam Leonard started MSU's comeback with a three-pointer on the game's next possession, and then Mallett scored the Bears' next seven points in an 11-3 run by Cuonzo Martin's team. Leonard's driving layup with 5:35 on the clock capped the run and put Missouri State on top 60-58.
The final five minutes were epic as SIU drained six straight free throws to take a 64-62 lead with 4:10 to play. Creekmore then rallied the Bears with two baskets, including a put-back with 2:05 on the clock to help the Bears earn a 66-65 lead. With 1:11 on the clock Mallett found a seam in the Salukis' defense and attacked the basket for a power dunk and put MSU up by three.
Southern Illinois never stopped attacking on the offensive end. Even though the Bears were 9-for-10 at the free throw line in the final 43 seconds, SIU got baskets by Kevin Dillard and Gene Teague before Bocot's third three-pointer of the night with 15 seconds left made it a one-point game, 73-72. Mallett iced two free throws to put the Bears up by three, 75-72, and then collected the game-cinching steal with 2.9 seconds on the clock before knocking down two more charity shots before time expired.
Creekmore was 9-for-11 from the field and collected 19 points with a pair of steals, while Kyle Weems had 11 points, all in the first half, behind three three-point field goals.
Bocot led SIU with 14 points, while Carlton Fay added 12. Teague and Dillard scored 11 points apiece for the Salukis who shot an impressive 59.6-percent from the field (28-of-47).
The Bears forced nine turnovers in the second half and fired at a 48.1 percent clip from the field on 25-of-52 shooting. Both teams made six three-pointers, but the Bears capitalized on 21-of-29 (.724) free throw attempts, including a combined 17-for-17 by Mallett and Justin Fuehrmeyer who had a game-high six assists.
Missouri State improved to 13-2 at home and will attempt to snag their second conference road win of the season on Sunday at 7:05 p.m. when it travels to Wichita State (20-6, 9-5) in a nationally-televised game on ESPNU.
The Bears will continue a two-game road swing at Illinois State next Wednesday (8:05 p.m.) before returning to JQH Arena for the BracketBusters on ESPN2 on Feb. 20 against Nevada (2:05 p.m.).
In the first half, Missouri State posted a 62.5-percent shooting effort and used the scoring of Creekmore (13) and Weems (11) to hold a 41-33 halftime lead. The Bears started the game with a three-pointer by Weems just 21 seconds in, and then Creekmore scored the team's next eight points, including his second trey of the season, giving MSU a 10-7 advantage early.
At the 11:37 mark of the first half, a three-pointer by SIU's Tony Freeman gave the Salukis an 18-16 lead, their only lead of the half. Weems then hit back-to-back threes for the Bears, and Creekmore notched a layup inside to cap an 8-0 MSU run and rebuild a 24-18 advantage for the home squad with just under 10 minutes remaining.
Nate Mitchell would tie the game again, 24-24, at the 7:54 mark, but an 8-1 run by the Bears paced by freshman Keith Pickens, gave MSU a 32-25 lead. The Bears built their lead to eight at the intermission on a traditional three-point play by Mallett in the final minute of the half.
