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CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. – Missouri State (5-2) led wire to wire and got 18 points and 13 rebounds from junior
Alize Johnson to lead the Bears to a 79-71 road win against in-state rival Southeast Missouri State (4-5) here Wednesday.
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The Bears scored the first six points of the game, fired an impressive 51.9 percent from the field and converted 80 percent at the line in the win.
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It was the 146
th meeting between the schools in a series that dates back to 1911.
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Dequon Miller added 17 points,
Austin Ruder scored 16, and
Jarrid Rhodes tallied 10 points in a starting role for Missouri State, which out-rebounded the Redhawks by a 42-29 margin.
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Antonius Cleveland led Southeast with 20 points, while Denzel Mahoney dumped in 14 for the home side.
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After leading by three at the break,
Ryan Kreklow ignited an 8-0 run over a three-minute span to push the visitors ahead by nine. Kreklow's trey from the left wing was followed by a transition jumper by Miller, a dunk by Rhodes and a free throw by
Jarred Dixon to make it 41-32 with just under 15 minutes to play.
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SEMO used a 7-3 run to crawl back within 44-39 before the under-12 media timeout, but MSU responded with a layup by
Chris Kendrix, a triple by Ruder and a stick-back by
Jordan Martin to end the home team's threat.
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With 6:14 to play, Ruder knocked down a long 3-pointer from the right side to give the Bears a double-figure advantage, 60-48, which Missouri State parlayed into three different 14-point leads down the stretch.
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The Redhawks dropped in three treys in the final three minutes to keep things respectable, but MSU was 9-for-12 at the foul line in that same span to put it on ice.
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In the first half, the Bears parlayed the fast start into an 11-point advantage just nine minutes into the game. Ruder started a 10-0 run for the Bears with a corner trey and added a three-shot free throw opportunity to the stretch to make it 16-5 at the 11:13 mark.
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Later in the half, the Redhawks turned up the intensity on the defensive end and held MSU to just two field goals over the last five-and-a-half minutes. Southeast got as close as 27-25 before going into the locker room down 29-26.
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The Bears finished the game 27-of-52 from the field, 5-of-14 (.357) from bonus distance and 20-of-25 at the stripe with 42 rebounds – 12 offensive – and 25 bench points.
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Southeast made 24-of-62 (.387) shots overall, 8-of-26 (.308) from long range and 15-of-23 (.652) at the stripe with 29 rebounds and 9 steals.
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MSU was without starters
Obediah Church and
Ronnie Rousseau III who were nursing minor injuries.
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The Bears return to action Saturday for a "Black Out" game against Valparaiso (7-2) at 7 p.m. Â
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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. Black Out gear can be purchased at
MSUBearsLockerRoom.com or the
BearWear Team Store.
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