CARBONDALE, Ill. -- Missouri State (15-8, 5-7 MVC) missed an opportunity to break a nine-game losing streak in Carbondale here Wednesday, letting a late second-half lead slip away in a 73-67 loss to Southern Illinois (13-9, 5-7).
When Kyle Weems' three-pointer with 14:37 to go in the game put the Bears up 45-39, things looked great for the Bears. However, an 8-0 run by the homestanding Salukis brought the SIU Arena crowd back in the game and gave Southern a 47-45 lead on a three-pointer by Carlton Fay at the 12:47 mark.
The Bears fought back to even the game on a driving layup by Justin Fuehrmeyer on their next possession and then regained the lead on a pair of free throws by Will Creekmore and Adam Leonard's six three-pointer of the game at the 10:37 mark.
Leonard's shot put MSU up 52-47. He finished with a career-high 29 points and was 7-for-11 from beyond the arc, just one shy of tying the school record for most threes in a game.
The Salukis closed out the final seven-and-a-half minutes with strong free throw shooting to mount the comeback. SIU was 11-for-12 at the line down the stretch and rejected several MSU runs in the clutch.
Leonard's final three of the night at the 3:25 mark made it a 64-62 game, but Anthony Booker answered with a short jumper to put SIU up by four, and Gene Teague's bucket off a triple team in the final minute put the game away.
Creekmore was the only other MSU player in double figures, scoring 12 with 7 rebounds. The Bears made 23-of-52 shots (.442) and were 10-for-23 (.435) from beyond the arc. MSU was also 11-for-17 (.647) at the line and managed a 36-30 rebounding edge.
SIU got 16 from Teague and 13 from Bocot to lead the Salukis who made 44.4 (24-of-54) percent of their shots but 19-of-23 (.826) at the line.
MSU returns home Saturday evening for a 7:05 p.m. tipoff against Creighton at JQH Arena.
Leonard scored 20 first-half points to pace the Bears to a 37-33 halftime lead. MSU has made six threes in the first period, including five by Leonard, and outrebounded the Salukis by a 19-11 margin.
SIU scored the first four points of the game and built a 10-7 advantage on a bucket by Nick Evans at the 13:10 mark. Leonard tied the game just under a minute later on his second trey of the half. After Southern built an 18-12 lead midway through the half, Leonard came up big again, knocking down threes on the next two MSU possessions to tie the game, and then giving the Bears a 21-20 lead with 6:44 remaining.
From there, the junior guard's hot hand opened things up inside, and Will Creekmore hit a pair of short layups to extend the Bears advantage to 27-23. A clear-out for Justin Fuehrmeyer with 13 seconds left in the opening period ended in an easy layup for the team's only senior and a 37-30 MSU lead.
Southern Illinois got the last shot of the half and converted a long three by Justin Bocot to end the first half with MSU on top, 37-33.
