Box Score Final Stats |
Season Stats |
MVC-Only Stats |
Lusk Postgame |
Players Postgame |
Tickets for Loyola Game
Â
SPRINGFIELD – Missouri State (14-8, 5-4) got 17 points and 17 rebounds from
Alize Johnson and 15 points and 6 assists from senior
Dequon Miller, but it wasn't enough as Drake's Reed Timmer scored on a driving, off-balance layup with 17.1 seconds left in overtime to secure a 72-71 win over the Bears here Tuesday.
Â
Timmer finished with a game-high 27 points on 10-of-18 shooting with three 3-pointers, and 5 assists.
Â
The Bears led for more than 30 minutes and used a 10-3 run early in the second half to lead the Bulldogs, 50-41 with 13:20 remaining in regulation after a fast-break finish by Johnson.
Â
Drake rallied within one behind triples by T.J. Thomas and Timmer, but MSU fought back before the final media timeout. The Bears collected a 3-pointer from
Austin Ruder – his third of the night – a pair of free throws by
Chris Kendrix and a stick-back by Johnson to extend the home team's lead to 60-54 with 4:55 remaining.
Â
Johnson's bucket would be Missouri State's last of regulation, and Drake ended the second half on a 10-4 run. MSU missed its last 10 field goal attempts of the final stanza and scored only on free throws by Miller and
Jarrid Rhodes in that span. Timmer's clear-out layup with 1:43 left in the second half tied the game at 64, and MSU was able to get defensive stops on DU's final two possessions in regulation to force extra time.
Â
In overtime, a 10-footer by Nick McGlynn started Drake's final push before Graham Woodward knocked down an elbow jumper to put the visitors ahead 68-65. After a free throw by
Ryan Kreklow inched MSU closer, Miller pulled up from 17 feet to tie the game again, 68-68 at the 2:15 mark.
Â
That score held until the final minute when MSU's
Obediah Church was called for a controversial goal-tend call on a shot by McGlynn to give the Bulldogs a two-point advantage. Miller made one free throw at the 46-second mark, but Timmer's game-winner inside 20 seconds capped the next possession for Drake, which won in Springfield for just the second time in the series history.
Â
Missouri State was unable to get a clean 3-point attempt off on its final possession, but Church cleaned up a long miss by Rhodes before the final horn to make the final score a one-point loss.
Â
In the first half, the Bears missed their last 10 shots of the period to open the door for a Drake comeback. After leading 28-13 with seven-and-a-half minutes to go in the half, MSU went ice cold and saw the visitors reel off a 21-5 outburst to end the half, including four treys.
Â
For the game, MSU out-rebounded Drake by a 48-42 margin and committed just 10 turnovers. But on a night when both teams struggled for offensive production, Missouri State fired at its second-lowest field goal percentage of the season, converting just 22-for-64 (.344), including 6-of-25 (.240) from long range. The Bears did overcome a slow start at the foul line by making 12-of-15 free throws in the second half alone, but left some critical points at the line in the extra period by making just 3-of-6 from the stripe in OT.
Â
Drake, which also got 12 points from Ore Arogundade and 10 from McGlynn, made 27-of-69 (.391) overall, 9-of-32 (.281) from bonus range and 9-of-14 (.643) at the line with 10 turnovers.
Â
The Bears now begin the second half of the Valley march on Saturday evening at Southern Illinois (11-11, 4-5 MVC). That game will tip at 7 p.m. on FOX Sports Midwest.
Â
MSU returns home on Tuesday, Jan. 31 for a 7 p.m. rematch against Loyola at JQH Arena. Tickets for the Loyola game may be purchased at the Old Missouri Bank Box Office at JQH Arena or by phone at (417) 836-7678. Regular-priced tickets are also available anytime at
MissouriStateBears.com.
Â
#MSUBears