Dec. 1, 2015 Final Stats
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SPRINGFIELD - A pair of free throws by Shane Rector with 3.3 seconds remaining lifted visiting Utah State (5-1) past Missouri State, 69-68, here Tuesday, in a thrilling finish in the Mountain West-Missouri Valley Challenge.
The Bears (1-5) led for over 27 minutes and fought off five ties and 13 lead changes against the Aggies, shooting a season-high 48.1 percent from the field and out-rebounding USU 33-31.
Jalen Moore led all scorers with 20 points for Utah State, while teammate Lew Evans corralled a game-high 11 rebounds.
Missouri State was led by sophomore Chris Kendrix with 17 points, while freshmen Obediah Church and Ryan Kreklow added 14 and 10 points, respectively. Dorrian Williams was also in double figures for the home side with 12 points and 5 assists.
The Bears led 67-63 on a layup by Camyn Boone with 2:37 to play, but coach Tim Duryea's squad rallied with jumpers by Chris Smith and Quinn Taylor to tie the score at the 1:45 mark.
On MSU's next possession, Kendrix missed a 3-pointer from the left corner, but was fouled after securing a steal on the defensive end moments later. On the ensuing free throws, Kendrix made the front end, but missed the second to give the Bears a 68-67 advantage.
That score held through an MSU shot clock violation with 20.3 seconds to play, and a block by Church with 11 ticks showing that sent Rector's driving shot into the front row. However, with time ticking down, Rector got the ball back and drove to the basket, initiating contact with Dorrian Williams and getting the call. The 85-percent foul shooter converted both ends and gave the Aggies their fifth win of the young campaign.
"I felt like the game was decided at the end, but really before that our turnovers kept them in the game," said MSU head coach Paul Lusk, whose club surrendered 19 points off its 15 turnovers. "We have to get better in that area. There are no moral victories, but I feel like our team battled from start to finish tonight, and I'm proud of the way they responded."
MSU's young guns responded out of the gate with Church finishing 7-for-8 from the field with 3 dunks, 2 steals and 4 blocked shots. Classmate Kreklow saw his first action of the season and responded in a major way, knocking down two second-half 3-pointers and a pair of free throws to finish in double figures.
Kendrix snagged 6 steals, matching the third-best single-game total in program history, while knocking down 5-of-9 shots and snagging 6 rebounds. Camyn Boone, whose desperation half-court shot at the buzzer was just off target, registered 9 points and 10 rebounds for the maroons.
For the evening, the Bears made 25-of-52 (.481) shots, their best effort since Jan. 3 last season against Drake on an identical shooting percentage. MSU was 7-of-17 (.412) beyond the arc and 11-of-18 (.611) at the foul line, including four key misses in the second half.
Utah State was 25-of-58 (.431) from the field, 10-of-23 (.435) beyond the arc and 9-of-13 (.692) at the stripe. Five different Aggies made long-range shots, including 4 by Darius Perkins who finished with 12 points as did Rector.
In the first half, the Bears shot out to a 6-0 lead, snagging the first 6 rebounds of the contest and leading for most of the first 10 minutes. Utah State, meanwhile, used the long ball to keep pace, dropping in a half dozen bonus balls in the first 20 minutes while capitalizing on 12 MSU mishaps to the tune of 13 points off turnovers in that span.
Kendrix accounted for 10 points on 4-of-5 shooting in the first half while Church was 4-for-4 from the field with a couple of dunks, a pair of long jumpers and 4 rebounds.
A layup by Moore with 2:19 to go in the opening stanza gave the Aggies a 29-24 advantage, their biggest of the period, before a traditional 3-point play by Kendrix, a jumper by Church and another bucket by Kendrix got the home club within 32-31 at the break.
With tonight's game, the Mountain West pulled into a 4-2 lead in the Mountain West-Missouri Valley Challenge with four games remaining in the month of December.
Missouri State will return to the road Saturday for a 2:30 p.m. tipoff at Oklahoma State in a game that will be televised on FOX Sports Southwest.
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