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SPRINGFIELD – Missouri State used the momentum of an 18-3 second-half run to overcome an early deficit and dispatch visiting Valparaiso, 64-57, here Wednesday to complete the season sweep of the Missouri Valley Conference newcomers.
 
MSU (15-5, 5-2 MVC) was led by senior Alize Johnson who posted his eighth straight double-double with 24 points and 17 rebounds to lead all players. Jarred Dixon added 12 points in the winning cause.
 
Valpo (11-9, 2-5 MVC) got 12 points off the bench from Markus Golder and 10 from Tevonn Walker.
 
The Bears trailed by nine in the first half, by five at halftime and fell behind 35-28 early in the second half before Johnson and the home club began chipping away.  Johnson hit 3-pointers on back-to-back possessions and then threw down a dunk to get MSU within three before classmate J.T. Miller tacked on a free throw to make it a 39-37 game.
 
Just over four minutes later, Dixon gave MSU its first lead since 20-18 when he scored a traditional 3-point play on a transition bucket off the glass to make it 45-43.
 
Dixon and Johnson would continue to rally the troops on the offensive end, while Jarrid Rhodes, Ryan Kreklow, Ronnie Rousseau III, Obediah Church and a host of others amped up the defensive pressure. By the time, Church threw down an uncontested dunk with 4:51 left in the game, Missouri State led 57-46 – its biggest advantage of the night.
 
Thanks to Walker, Max Joseph and Bakari Evelyn, the Crusaders made one last charge and climbed within 58-54 with 1:52 to play. But Johnson stepped up on the defensive end and drew a charge on Golder with just 76 seconds remaining and put a damper on Valpo's hopes.
 
Dixon iced 5-of-6 free throws in the final minute to stretch the MSU advantage to seven and help the Bears improve to 9-1 at JQH Arena this season.
 
Missouri State out-rebounded its 18^th opponent of the campaign, boasting a 43-37 edge on the glass, while holding Valpo to just 35.5 percent from the field and 19 percent from long range.
 
The Bears converted 44 percent of their shots in the second half and finished 24-of-56 (.429) overall. MSU overcame a slow start from long range, going 4-of-9 in the second half and 5-of-21 overall from 3-point distance.
 
Church finished with 8 points, 6 rebounds and 2 blocks in his return to the starting rotation, while Reggie Scurry came off the bench to add 7 points and 5 boards. Rhodes also added 6 boards for MSU.
 
In the first half, Valparaiso used runs of 11-0 and 12-2 to take a 31-26 lead into the intermission.
 
After the Crusaders built a 13-4 advantage seven minutes in, the Bears rallied with a 10-0 outburst of their own, capitalized by a Scurry jumper to push MSU up 18-15 at the 7:46 mark. 
 
Scurry tied the game, 22-22, with just over three minutes left before the break on a short bucket off the window. But Valpo was game and reeled off the next seven straight points, including four by Evelyn to take the lead at the midway point.

With the victory, Missouri State is tied with Drake and Loyola for first place in the MVC.
 
The Bears begin a two-game Valley road swing Saturday afternoon (3 p.m.) at Drake (11-9, 5-2 MVC) before traveling to Bradley next Tuesday.
 
MSU returns home on Jan. 27 to take on Southern Illinois at 5 p.m. on a "Black Out" night at JQH Arena. Tickets for the SIU game are on sale now at MissouriStateBears.com or at the Old Missouri Bank Box Office at JQH Arena -- (417) 836-7678 – during regular box office hours.
 
Lower-level chairback seats for the SIU game will be sold for just $15 on the day of the game, based on availability.