Dec. 3, 2011

Final Stats

Final Stats (PDF)

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. -- Missouri State spotted New Mexico the first 10 points of the game and tried to dig their way out of the early hole the rest of the way in a 76-60 loss here Saturday in the Mountain West-Missouri Valley Conference Challenge.

MSU (4-2) fell behind by as many as 24 points in a first half that saw the Bears commit 10 turnovers and give up seven three-pointers to the Lobos (6-2). The Bears trimmed their deficit to 16 at the intermission thanks to a nice late run that included a three-pointer and jumper by Caleb Patterson who finished with 9 points.

The Bears were led by Jarmar Gulley who notched 17 points and a game-high 8 rebounds off the bench. Kyle Weems added 11, and Anthony Downing scored 10 with 7 assists. Nathan Scheer also added 8 points for Missouri State.

Kendall Williams scored a game-high 19 for the Lobos who had four players in double figures.

MSU climbed back within 45-33 on a Gulley dunk at the 14:35 mark of the second half after the Bears came out of the locker room with a renewed sense of urgency. Later in the half, the Bears held New Mexico without a field goal for more than six minutes to stay close, and a Weems' three-pointer with 3:16 to go made it a a 67-56 contest.

But with a 35-5 free throw deficit, the Bears could not climb the any higher the rest of the way, despite a hard-nosed effort in the second stanza.

The Bears finished 26-for-62 (.419) from the field, scoring five more field goals than New Mexico, which was 21-for-55 (.382).

For their part, the Lobos knocked down 10-of-22 (.455) three-pointers, compared to 5-of-25 (.200) from the visitors who were just 3-of-5 at the foul line.

MSU finished with 12 turnovers and was out-rebounded 44-34 by New Mexico which was 24-for-35 (.686) at the foul line.

The announced attendance at The Pit of 14,077 was the 22nd-largest ever to witness an MSU game.

The Bears return home their 0-2 road swing with a Wednesday night game at 8 p.m. against Oklahoma State. Tickets for the game are available at the Chevy Pickup Window at JQH Arena, by phone at (417) 836-7678 or on-line at www.MissouriStateTix.com.