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SPRINGFIELD – Missouri State (4-1) forced 15 turnovers and kept North Dakota State's potent offense in check most of the afternoon in a 64-50 Bears non-conference win here Sunday.
 
The Bears tallied 24 points off NDSU's mishaps and converted 15 offensive rebounds into 20 second-chance points in a game they trailed just 46 seconds early in the first half.
 
Alize Johnson led MSU with 17 points, 10 rebounds and three steals, while Dequon Miller added three steals of his own to go with 12 points. The Bears also got 10 points from Ronnie Rousseau III.
 
Khy Kabellis was the only Bison player in double figures with 19 points on 8-of-16 from the field.
 
After falling behind 4-2, Missouri State used a 15-0 run early in the opening half to push its lead to double figures just five-and-a-half minutes in. Johnson accounted for the first 10 points of that run on his own with a pair of hook shots and a couple of corner triples to make it 17-4.
 
The Bison countered with a brief 5-0 outburst midway through the opening period to cut their deficit to 17-9, but the Bears mounted another attack following the under-eight media timeout. Rousseau started the sequence with a traditional 3-point play before Miller tallied seven straight points to push MSU up 33-15 before the five-minute mark.
 
MSU would stretch its opening-half lead to as many as 20 points before going into the intermission with a 38-21 advantage.  
 
North Dakota State was never able to get any closer than 10 in the second half. A jumper by Kabellis and layup by Paul Miller made it 50-40 with 11:50 to go in the game. But Missouri State parlayed a great move to the basket by Jarred Dixon into a three-point play on its next possession to extend its lead to 53-40.
 
The Bears' defense took care of things from there, holding the Bison to just 4-of-18 from the field down the stretch to help Missouri State improve to 4-0 at home on the young season.
 
"I thought this was our best defensive effort of the season," said MSU head coach Paul Lusk. "We were able to hold one of the top players in their conference (Miller) to nine points, and I thought Ryan Kreklow did a great job guarding him all night. When our shots didn't fall, our defense is what carried us."
 
Missouri State finished 22-of-58 (.379) from the field and 7-of-23 (.304) from long range, but had a solid day at the line, converting 13-of-18 (.722) free throws. The Bears also out-rebounded North Dakota State by a 40-35 margin and tallied eight steals. MSU's bench also outscored its opposition for the fifth straight game, collecting 20 points from its reserves to just eight from the visitors' bench.
 
NDSU was 22-of-60 (.367) overall, 5-for-19 (.263) from bonus distance and 1-of-4 (.250) at the stripe with just six assists.
 
The Bears return to action Saturday, Dec. 3 at Air Force at 8 p.m. as part of the Mountain West-Missouri Valley Conference Challenge in Colorado Springs. MSU returns home on December 10 for a "Black Out" game against Valparaiso at 7 p.m.  Tickets for the Valpo game are available at MissouriStateBears.com or by visiting the Old Missouri Bank Box Office at JQH Arena, (417) 836-7678, during regular box office hours.
 
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