Box Score ST. THOMAS, US Virgin Islands – Alston Mason scored 20 points, while Matthew Lee and Donovan Clay pitched in 17 apiece to lift Missouri State to a 70-61 win over Florida Gulf Coast here Friday night in the opening round of the Paradise Jam.
 
With the victory, Missouri State (2-1) advances to play Kent State (3-1) in the tournament semifinals Sunday evening at 7 p.m. (Central).
 
The Bears also got a career-high 11 points from N.J. Benson whose dive on the floor for a loose ball and subsequent called timeout 65 seconds to play helped secure the victory.
 
MoState led wire to wire and shot 54.3 percent from the field with a dozen 3-pointers, including a career-high five from Lee and four more from Mason.
 
After leading by 13 at the half, coach Dana Ford's squad built its advantage to 59-39 – its largest of the night -- after a triple by Mason with 11:46 remaining.
 
But the Eagles (1-3) reeled off eight unanswered points over the next three minutes to make it 59-47 before Lee's lob pass from beyond the arc splashed through the net for his fifth triple of the contest and pushed the Bears' lead back to 15.
 
FGCU would go on another 7-0 outburst later in the half to make it 64-54, but a dunk by Benson on a lob from Clay restored order before the four-minute mark.
 
Down the stretch, Mason's driving layup at the two-minute mark and his two free throws with 33 seconds to play put things out of reach and held off the late surge from FGCU.
 
Isaiah Thompson's traditional three-point play with 39 seconds to play made it 68-61, the closest the Eagles had been since the 12:20 mark of the first half, before Mason sealed it from the foul line.
 
Thompson led Florida Gulf Coast with 15 points, while Zach Anderson pitched in 14 and 5 rebounds.
 
In the first half, the Bears overcame eight turnovers and six FGCU offensive rebounds to lead 42-29 at the midway point. The offensive surge was energized by eight 3-pointers and a 64-percent shooting effort to lead by double figures just over seven minutes in.
 
The Bears knocked down three triples out of the gates with Damien Mayo Jr. hitting one and Lee draining two in a row to make it 9-0 just over three minutes into the game and force an Eagles timeout. FGCU scored six straight out of the timeout to make it a three-point game, but the Bears used another 8-1 outburst to make it 17-7 after two more triples -- one by Clay and a third from Lee.
 
Clay scored all of Missouri State's points on an 8-2 run later in the half that pushed the Bears up by double figures the rest of the period. Before the intermission, Mason drained a pair of treys, and later Lee's driving shot off the glass gave the Bears their biggest lead of the period, 42-27, with just over two minutes to play.
 
For the game, Missouri State shot 25-of-46 (.543) overall, 12-of-25 (.480) from long range and 8-of-11 (.727) at the line. Clay led the Bears with 6 rebounds, while Lee, Mason and Clay each handed out three assists.
 
FGCU was 23-of-56 (.411) overall, 4-for-20 (.200) from distance and 11-of-17 (.647) at the line with a narrow 27-26 rebounding advantage.
 
After the Paradise Jam event, the Bears return home on Saturday, Nov. 25 to battle South Carolina State at 1 p.m. Missouri State welcomes back coach Steve Alford and the 1999 Bears for that game, along with the jersey retirement ceremony of Bears' great Danny Moore.
 
Tickets for the South Carolina State game and 1999 celebration are available at MissouriStateBears.com or by visiting the Missouri State Box Office at Great Southern Bank Arena, (417) 836-7678, during regular office hours.