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SPRINGFIELD – Led by newcomer Alize Johnson's 26 points and 11 rebounds, Missouri State cruised to a 93-72 exhibition win here Saturday, dispatching visiting Missouri Baptist before 2,737 fans at JQH Arena.
 
The Bears also got double-figure scoring efforts from fellow newcomers Jarrid Rhodes (13 points) and Ronnie Rousseau III (11), while Dequon Miller tallied 13 points. Obediah Church notched a game-high 13 rebounds with Jarred Dixon and Austin Ruder each contributing 9 points off the bench for Paul Lusk's Bears.
 
Missouri Baptist was led by Jahmouri Robinson who was a perfect 6-for-6 from the field to lead four Spartans in double figures with 15 points.
 
MSU never trailed in the game and jumped out to a 7-0 lead out of the gates. It took the Bears less than five minutes to open up their first double-digit advantage, and by the midway point in the opening half, the home side had its biggest lead of the period, 28-13.
 
Six different Missouri State players connected on 3-pointers, including a team-high three treys by Miller. Rousseau's second bomb of the night with just under seven minutes to play gave Missouri State its biggest lead of the night, 91-65. As a team, the Bears made 11-of-31 (.355) shots beyond the arc.
 
A key stretch late in the first half seemed to dash the Spartans' chances. After back-to-back treys by David Gabrovsek cut the MSU lead to 33-28 at the five-minute mark, Missouri State reeled off 10 of the next 12 points over a three-minute stretch. A baseline jumper by Dixon, a trey by Rousseau, a dunk by Robin Thompson and a jumper from Rhodes pushed the maroon side ahead 43-30 with two minutes to go in the half.
 
That momentum carried forward into the second half with MSU stretching a 49-35 halftime lead into a 61-39 edge just three minutes into the second stanza.
 
For the game, Missouri State connected on 32-of-77 (.416) field goals and connected on 18-of-22 (.818) from the foul line with a decisive 48-30 rebounding advantage.
 
Missouri Baptist was 25-of-57 (.439) from the field, 4-of-19 (.211) from beyond the arc and 18-of-24 (.750) from the stripe.
 
Missouri State begins regular-season play in less than a week with a 7 p.m. tipoff on Friday (Nov. 11) against Alabama A&M to begin a three-game home stand. Tickets for the AAMU game and all home games are available now at MissouriStateBears.com or by visiting the Old Missouri Bank Ticket Window at JQH Arena, (417) 836-7678 during regular box office hours.

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