Dec. 5, 2015 Final Stats | USATSI Gallery 
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STILLWATER, Okla. - A driving layup by Dequon Miller with 7.3 seconds remaining helped Missouri State overcome a four-point deficit in the final 30 seconds and secure a 64-63 win over home standing Oklahoma State here Saturday.
Miller finished with a career-high 21 points to lead three Bears in double figures with senior Camyn Boone contributing 17, and Chris Kendrix adding 10 points and 9 rebounds in the win.
Missouri State (2-5) out-rebounded the Cowboys by a 41-31 margin and overcame a late charge by the Big XII club t hat saw Oklahoma State make 7 of its final 10 field goal attempts.
OSU (5-3) was led by Jawun Evans and Jeff Newberry with 15 points each.
Missouri State led 32-20 at the half and built its advantage to 17 just over two minutes into the second period on a 3-pointer by Kendrix that made it a 39-22 game.
The home side then responded with a 7-0 surge before Jordan Martin silenced the biased gathering of 4,651 at Gallagher-Iba Arena briefly with a layup before the under-16 media timeout. The Cowboys kept the pressure on before the midway point of the stanza, using full-court defense to manufacture a 14-5 run over the next 8 minutes and make it a 46-44 contest with just 7:36 to play.
But the visiting Bears were game, rallying behind a floater by Miller to lead by four at the seven-minute mark. OSU took the lead briefly - twice - but each time Missouri State had an answer. First with a close-range bucket by Boone and later with Miller's third trey of the game. Boone followed Miller's big-time shot with a tip-in with just under 4 minutes to go and make it a 55-52 contest.
The newly-inspired Cowboys, however, came knocking with a trey by Evans and a clutch transition shot by Jeffrey Carroll to get OSU back within 58-57 with 2 minutes showing. And the next minute belonged to OSU as well. Travis Ford's squad capitalized on misses by Miller and Boone to retake the lead with a pair of free throws and later a rim-rattling dunk by Anthony Allen with 50 seconds to go and make it a 61-58 game.
Miller got to the line on MSU's next trip down the floor and made 1-of-2 at the foul line to get the Bears within two with 36 seconds remaining. Paul Lusk's team decided to foul OSU on the ensuing possession, and Newberry responded by knocking down both ends to give the Cowboys their biggest lead of the afternoon, 63-59.
But Miller closed out the game with a vengeance, first on a driving "and-one" play at the 17-second mark. He finished the 3-point opportunity to make it 63-62, and when Boone fouled Evans just 14 ticks before the buzzer, MSU had new life.
Evans missed both ends, Kendrix snagged the rebound, and Miller scored on a driving runner to the rim that put Missouri State ahead for the final time.
Oklahoma State called its last timeout and set up a potential game-winning play, but the Bears snuffed it out. Obediah Church pulled down the rebound as time expired after a missed trey by Joe Burton from the left corner to secure the win.
It marked Missouri State's first road victory since a 53-50 win at Southern Illinois last Dec. 31, and the gritty upset was also the club's first road win against a power-five conference foe since an 81-69 victory at Big East South Florida on Dec. 22, 2006.
For the afternoon, Missouri State converted 25-of-60 (.417) field goals, 7-of-17 (.412) 3-pointers and 7-of-10 (.700) foul shots, including just 3-of-4 attempts in the second half. The Bears committed 15 turnovers to OSU's 14, and capitalized on its 10 offensive rebounds with 9 second-chance points to the Cowboys' 2.
Oklahoma State was 23-for-54 (.426) overall, 6-of-18 (.333) from bonus distance and 11-for-16 (.688) at the line. The Cowboys finished with just 4 offensive rebounds.
In the early going it was all MSU with the Bears getting a fast start and an early 9-2 advantage in the first six-and-a-half minutes. A 3-pointer by Ryan Kreklow led to a timeout by the Cowboys at the 13:30 mark, which briefly stopped MSU's momentum.
The Cowboys rallied within 11-9 after that with a 7-2 run led by a trey and transition layup from Leyton Hammonds two minutes later. But the visitors were game and retook command before the midway point in the period with back-to-back bombs from Miller and Loomis Gerring.
The Bears ended the half on a 9-2 run with Kendrix accounting for 7 of those points in a five-minute stretch to give the Bears a 32-20 edge at the intermission.
The red-hot Bears return to JQH Arena on Thursday to take on the IUPUI Jaguars at 7:05 p.m., to begin a three-game home stand. Tickets for all three games are available at MissouriStateBears.com/tickets or during regular MSU Athletics Box Office hours at JQH Arena and at (417) 836-7678.
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