Nov. 8, 2014 Final Stats | Final Stats | Tickets for Season Opener
SPRINGFIELD - Marcus Marshall scored a game-high 23 points, including the game-winning running jumper with 2.9 seconds left, to lift Missouri State past visiting Missouri Southern here Saturday in a preseason exhibition battle.
The Bears overcame a 15-point deficit and a trailed 61-53 with just over six minutes remaining before staging the late comeback.
Missouri Southern got 19 points and 5 rebounds from Blaine Miller, while Greg Renfroe added 12 points and 9 rebounds off the bench for the Lions, a Division II program coming off a 30-win campaign.
Jeff Boschee's Lions used a hot shooting start to build a 13-point advantage just under seven minutes into the contest. A dunk by Renfroe made it 22-9 at the 12:58 mark of the first half. A pair of close buckets by MSU newcomer Camyn Boone and a layup by Dorrian Williams drew the home club back within 22-15 over the next minute-and-a-half. But Southern rallied behind Miller and Devin Spencer who led an 8-3 run by the visitors to push ahead by 12. Taylor Luster's trey at the 6:35 mark gave the Lions their biggest lead of the night at 33-18.
After starting 8-for-14 from the field MSSU finished the first half with a 53-percent shooting clip, while forcing 11 Missouri State turnovers to lead 43-30 at the break.
But the second half script read differently, and the Bears rallied before a largely-student crowd of 3,327 at JQH Arena.
When Renfroe's put-back after the first media timeout gave the Lions a 51-38 lead, the Bears moved to a zone defense and collected stops in six of their next seven defensive trips to start a 9-2 run and make it a six-point game.
With the Bears back in the game, Missouri Southern didn't cave under pressure and built its advantage to 59-50 at the 7:17 mark. The Lions later answered a Marshall 3-pointer with a pair of charity shots by Taevaunn Prince a minute later to build a 61-53 advantage.
But the final six minutes of the contest belonged to the home side. Over the span of the next two-and-a-half minutes, Marshall completed a traditional 3-point play, Ron Mvouika scored on a steal and layup, and Boone tallied two offensive put-backs, the latter of which put Missouri State ahead 62-61 with 3:36 to go. Boone's last bucket marked MSU's first lead since the 18:58 mark of the first half.
Mvouika added a key jumper from the elbow, and Kirk tacked on a pair of free throws with just under two minutes to go to make it 66-63 at the time. But the Lions caught a huge break moments later with a traditional 3-point play by senior Cameron Cornelius to tie the contest, 66-66, at the 1:36 mark.
The Bears battled for a loose ball on the ensuing possession, and Mvouika dove to the floor to keep it in the home team's hands temporarily, but MSU's second turnover of the half came at a bad time when Dorrian Williams lost the handle with 51 seconds to go. Taylor Luster missed a long jumper for MSSU, and Kirk gathered in the rebound to set up the winning shot by Marshall in the final seconds.
Missouri Southern, which made just two field goals in the final 7 minutes, 17 seconds, couldn't get off a shot before the final buzzer, and Missouri State avoided the preseason upset with the two-point comeback win.
Kirk finished with 7 rebounds off the bench, while Mvouika added a team-high 8 boards for the home side. Boone added 13 points in reserve, while Williams racked up 9 points and 3 assists.
Missouri State forced 17 turnovers and out-rebounded Missouri Southern by a 40-35 margin, including a 22-15 difference in the second half. The Bears finished 22-for-57 (.386) from the field, 6-of-24 (.250) from beyond the arc and just 60 percent (18-for-30) at the line.
Missouri Southern finished 24-for-51 (.471), while converting 6-of-17 (.353) outside the arc and just 12-of-24 at the line. The Lions were just 1-of-6 from three in the second half and 6-of-14 at the line in the final 20 minutes.
The Bears will start the regular season this Friday (Nov. 14) with a 7:05 p.m. game against Eastern Illinois on a Tribute to Charlie Spoonhour night at JQH Arena. Tickets are on-sale at MissouriStateBears.com/tickets, or at the Athletics Box Office in JQH Arena, during regular box office hours or by calling (417) 836-7678.
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