Box Score | Season Stats | Tickets for UIC Game
 
NASHVILLE – Belmont knocked down 16 three-pointers and had an answer for every Missouri State run here Saturday en route to a 93-78 victory over the visiting Bears.

The Bears were led by Chance Moore and Matthew Lee with 18 points apiece, while Alston Mason scored 17. Donovan Clay eclipsed 1,000 points as a Bear in the first half and finished with 15 points and a game-high 10 rebounds in his first double-double of the season.
  
Cade Tyson led all players with 25 points and 6 triples for the Bruins (17-12, 10-8 MVC), while Ja'Kobi Gillespie tallied 24 for the home club, which had five players in double figures.
 
For its part, Missouri State's offensive efforts were on point as the maroon side shot 49.2 percent from the field overall to Belmont's 47.1. But the difference was from the perimeter where the Bruins answered every Bears' run with a triple.
 
Down by as many as 17 in the second half, the Bears kept pushing forward. Chance Moore's dunk and free throw with 4:08 remaining caped a 10-4 MSU run and got the visitors back within 82-71.
 
But Tyson responded seconds later with his final trey of the game to get his team's lead back to 14.
 
Matthew Lee would get to the foul line twice from there and would trim the deficit to 12 with three minutes to play. But the Bears, who forced nine turnovers, could not get any closer, and the Bruins finished things out with Jayce Willingham scoring twice more down the stretch to extend the final margin to 15.
 
Missouri State finished 30-of-61 (.492) overall from the field and 7-of-16 (.438) from beyond the arc. Missouri State was also 11-for-17 (.647) at the line and matched the Bruins on the glass, 35-35 with Mason accounting for 5 of the team's 13 assists.
 
Belmont was 32-of-68 (.471) overall, 16-for-38 (.421) from downtown and 13-of-14 (.929) with a generous 21 assists.
 
In the opening half, the Bears shot 52 percent from the field and out-rebounded the Bruins by five, but Belmont knocked down 9 threes to take a 46-38 lead at the break.
 
The Bears nearly erased a 12-point deficit in the last five minutes of the opening half with Lee draining a triple for MSU, and Moore converting a traditional three-point play. With 55 seconds to go, Donovan Clay's free throw made it a 41-38 game.
 
However, Tyson's second trey of the stanza on Belmont's next possession stretched the home side's lead to six, and then Ja'Kobi Gillespie plowed through Mason near mid-court and was reward with two free throws with 7 seconds left to put Belmont up by eight at the intermission.
 
The Bruins continued that run at the start of the second half, extending the surge to 12-0 and extending their lead to 53-38 before an MSU timeout at the 18:37 mark ended it with the Bears answering with a 5-0 outburst of their own.

Missouri State (15-14, 7-11 MVC) will play its final Valley road game of the season on Wednesday (7 p.m./ESPN+) when the Bears travel to Illinois State.
 
MSU then returns to Great Southern Bank Arena for its regular-season finale on Sunday, March 3 to take on UIC at 1 p.m. on Fan Appreciation Night and Senior Night. Tickets for the UIC game are available at MissouriStateBears.com or by visiting the Great Southern Bank Box Office, (417) 836-7678, during regular business hours.
 
#BearsUnite