Nov. 19, 2014 Final Stats
Final Stats | Season Stats | Highlights | Lusk Postgame | Players Postgame | Great Alaska Shootout
SPRINGFIELD - Six Missouri State players scored in double figures, including a game-high 13 by Marcus Marshall, to lead the Bears (2-0) to an 87-39 win over visiting Avila University (3-3) here Wednesday.
Marshall played just 16 minutes, but made 4 of 6 field goals and a pair of 3-pointers while dishing out 2 assists and grabbing 2 steals. Austin Ruder added 12 points for Paul Lusk's squad, while Robin Thompson and Ron Mvouika each scored 11, and newcomers Loomis Gerring and Camyn Boone scored 10 apiece. Boone also grabbed a game-high 9 rebounds.
Avila got 12 points off the bench from Bradley Reed and 11 from Sedrick Johnson. Johnson also snagged 6 rebounds for the Kansas City-based Eagles who committed 19 turnovers on the night.
The Bears never trailed in the contest and used runs of 18-2 and 15-0 in the first half to lead 47-14 at the break. Missouri State opened the second half on a 19-3 run to climb ahead by 49 points on a dunk by Chris Kendrix with 12:43 to go and later led by as many as 52.
It was the largest margin of victory for Missouri State ever in JQH Arena and its largest overall since a 106-54 win over Evansville on Jan. 9, 2007 in Hammons Student Center.
Missouri State collected 46 points in the paint and produced 27 points off turnovers. MSU's reserves, who played most of the second half, accounted for 40 points with four of the team's five starters scoring in double figures.
In the first half, the Bears scored 19 points off 14 Avila turnovers and made 10 of their first 14 shots. A 15-0 run late in the period that included 8 points by Boone, built a 30-point advantage for the home side with three-and-a-half minutes left in the opening stanza.
Freshman Robin Thompson scored 10 of his 11 points in the second half, paced by a pair of dunks and 7-of-9 makes from the foul line to complement his 5 rebounds. The team's four freshmen combined for 19 points overall, with Boone and Gerring pushing the MSU newcomer total to 39 points on the night.
Missouri State takes to the road for its next four games, starting Saturday at 7 p.m. at Texas Tech (1-1), a game that can be seen on KOLR-10 locally and the statewide Missouri State Television Network. From there, the Bears compete in the GCI Great Alaska Shootout in Anchorage, Nov. 26-29.
MSU returns home on Dec. 4 to battle Arkansas-Little Rock at 7:05 p.m.
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