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SPRINGFIELD – Jarred Dixon scored four of his 19 points in overtime, and Alize Johnson posted a career-high 30 points to help lift Missouri State past visiting Indiana State, 81-75, here Saturday in a thrilling Missouri Valley Conference matchup.
 
Johnson's third straight double-double also saw him snag a game-high 15 rebounds. His personal 9-2 run midway through the second half helped the Bears (11-4, 2-0 MVC) overcome a narrow deficit and push ahead by six at the time.
 
Indiana State (6-8, 0-2 MVC) got 22 points and 9 rebounds from Brenton Scott who drained six 3-pointers.
 
There were 12 lead changes in the game, and the eighth one inspired by Johnson's efforts sparked the JQH Arena faithful. With MSU trailing 48-47 at the 13-minute mark, Johnson knocked down a key 3-pointer, and then reeled off four more points in the span of just over a minute to push MSU ahead 54-48. Niels Bunschoten hit a long jumper before the shot clock expired for ISU near the 11-minute mark, but Johnson responded on the very next possession with a solid second-chance effort under the bucket to make it a 56-50 game.
 
The Bears would extend the run to a 14-2 outburst before the nine-minute mark on a triple by Dequon Miller that made it a 61-50 contest.
 
But coach Greg Lansing's Sycamores were game for a fight and dropped in three treys over the next three minutes to stay within striking distance. ISU then rallied again after the final media timeout with a quick 7-0 spurt that included a 3-pointer by Scott to give ISU a 69-68 lead with 2:22 to play.
 
The scrappy Bears were able to string together stops on the defensive end on five straight possessions, allowing just a single free throw in that span, but struggled to close it out from the foul line. Johnson gave the Bears a 71-70 lead with a pair of free throws with 67 ticks remaining, then missed a pair with 40 seconds to go. Finally, after Ryan Kreklow drew a key charge with just under 20 seconds to play, Johnson made one of two to make it 72-70.
 
The Bears seemed to have the Sycamores pinned down on the final possession of regulation with Obediah Church rejecting a shot by Scott at close range. But ISU reset the offense with Scott driving to the bucket in the final second, only to dish to Brandon Murphy for a game-tying dunk just before the final buzzer.
 
However, in overtime, the Bears turned up the heat. MSU scored first on a hook shot by Johnson, then on back-to-back possessions with buckets by Dixon to make it 78-72 with two minutes to go. Johnson later tied up a loose ball on the offensive end to keep the ball with the Bears at the one-minute mark, and in the closing moments, Dequon Miller iced the victory with 3-of-4 foul shots to give the Bears a six-point conference win.
 
Miller added 16 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists for MSU with Church and Rhodes each snagging 8 rebounds. Church also posted 5 blocked shots for the winning side.
 
It was the fourth straight overtime victory for coach Paul Lusk's club, dating back to the 2014-15 season, and Missouri State's second 2-0 start in league play in three seasons.
 
In the first half, the Bears shot 50 percent from the field and went into the locker room with an eight-point lead, 37-29. Dixon provided some firepower from the bench, tallying 10 points in an 11-minute stretch.
 
MSU trailed 18-16 before an 11-3 run over three minutes pushed the home club's advantage to six. Kreklow's long 3-pointer at the 6:11 mark gave the Bears their biggest lead of the game to that point. After the under-four media timeout, MSU went on an 8-0 run to lead 37-27 with Dixon providing a pair of buckets, in addition to a hook shot by Johnson and a layup by Jarrid Rhodes.
 
Missouri State finished the game 30-for-70 (.429) from the field and 4-of-15 (.267) from long range with a 17-for-28 (.607) effort at the line. MSU out-rebounded the Sycamores by an impressive 52-36 margin and committed just 10 turnovers.
 
Indiana State, which also got 12 points from Matt Van Scyoc and 11 from Everett Clemons, was 25-of-68 (.368) overall and 11-for-31 (.355) from bonus distance. The Sycamores were also 14-for-20 (.700) at the free throw line with 12 turnovers and 6 steals.
 
The Bears return to Valley play Wednesday at Illinois State at 8 p.m. on FOX Sports Midwest before returning to JQH Arena on Saturday, Jan. 7 against league rival Southern Illinois at 3 p.m., on CBS Sports Network
 
Tickets for the SIU game are available anytime at MissouriStateBears.com or by visiting the Old Missouri Bank Box Office at JQH Arena, (417) 836-7678, during regular box office hours.