GOODYEAR, Ariz. - A strong final round moved the Missouri State men's golf team up two spots Tuesday (Mar. 1) to a sixth-place finish at the Loyola Intercollegiate in Goodyear, Ariz. The Bears posted a six-under-par 282 team score after 281-293 the first two days at Palm Valley Golf Club for an 856 total, the fourth-best team score in school history.

Three Bears shot under par the final day, including the senior duo of Joey Johnson and Mitch Mather, who both had three-under 69's. Freshman Kory Franks chipped in with a 71 and classmate Adam Fisher rallied with four birdies down the stretch to offset a poor start and shoot 73.

Overall, Johnson and Fisher tied for 16th in the tournament with 213 totals. Johnson shot 68-76-69 while Fisher carded 70-70-73. Mather and Franks tied for 23rd, two shots behind at 215. Mather recorded 73-73-69 and Franks had 70-74-71. Sophomore John Fuchs posted 75-78-83--236 and tied for 97th.

Arkansas State fired a final-round 273 and notched a nine-stroke victory over Indiana in the team race, 833-842. James Madison was third at 847, followed by Tennessee-Martin (851), Connecticut (852) and the Bears. Seton Hall (858), Elon (863), William & Mary (863) and Murray State (863) rounded out the top 10.

The Bears are idle next week, but return to action Mar. 15-17 at the ORU/SFA Spring Break Invitational in Dallas, Texas.

Final Results