Missouri State

SPRINGFIELD – Visiting Arkansas State hit two free throws with five seconds left to help the Red Wolves to an 86-85 comeback win over Missouri State here Tuesday.
 
The Bears (2-1) were led by Michael Osei-Bonsu's 21 points, while Zaxton King pitched in 18, and freshman Trey Williams Jr. scored 14. Osei-Bonsu and Darrion Sutton each snagged 10 rebounds for Missouri State marking Osei-Bonsu's second double-double in three games.
 
Chandler Jackson tallied 33 points to lead A-State (2-1), including 26 in the second half, to lead the charge for the visitors, while T.J. Caldwell added 16.
 
There were just two ties and three lead changes in the nip-and-tuck battle with Missouri State leading for the first 33 minutes before Arkansas State rallied down the stretch. With 6:16 to go, MSU's Keith Palek III picked up his fifth foul on a corner 3-point attempt by Royal Blue-Smith. Blue-Smith made two-of-three free throws to give the Red Wolves their first lead of the night, 72-21.
 
After A-State's lead swelled to five, King put the Bears on his back, burying an elbow jumper to make it a one-possession game before returning the lead to the home club with a fast-break layup with 1:31 remaining to make it an 80-79 game.
 
MSU's lead was short-lived with Jackson scoring on back-to-back possessions after a Bears' turnover opened the door for Arkansas State to push ahead 83-80 with 26 seconds left on the clock.
 
Down the stretch, the game came down to free throws with the teams combining for a dozen charity shots in less than 21 seconds. Osei-Bonsu made both ends at the line with 20.7 seconds showing to make it an 83-82 game. A-State answered with a Jackson free throw at the 16.5-second mark to stretch its lead to two. Osei-Bonsu then made one-of-two with 6.7 ticks to play before a pair of foul shots by ASU's Matt Hayman made it 86-83 with five seconds to go.
 
On the ensuing play, Blue-Smith was whistled for an intentional foul on Osei-Bonsu, giving the Bears two shots and the ball with just 2.6 seconds left. The senior made the second free throw to make it a two-point game, and then got the ball back for a driving layup and the foul less than a second later. The layup was waived off, and Osei-Bonsu was awarded two shots instead of a chance for a three-point play. He made the front end and missed the second.
 
MSU's Logan Epes scraped up the loose ball off the missed free throw but couldn't get off a shot in tall timber to the left of the basket as the buzzer sounded to dash the Bears' comeback hopes.
 
The Bears finished 27-of-37 (.730) at the free throw line on the night, while A-State was 23-of-29 (.793)

A-State's Jackson was 10-for-11 from the field, 3-for-3 from distance and 10-of-12 at the free throw line in a remarkable performance. 
 
In the first half, the Bears shot 54 percent from the field and scored 18 points off 10 A-State turnovers to take a 46-33 lead at the intermission. King's 12 points led all players, while Sutton racked up 7 rebounds off the bench in the opening 20 minutes.
 
King and Osei-Bonsu ignited a 19-7 run by the home club over a six-minute stretch to push the Bears ahead 24-11 at the 11-minute mark. The lead swelled to 16 on four occasions before the break with a triple by Trey Williams Jr. making it 45-29 with just 82 seconds to go in the stanza.
 
But the second half proved to be a different chapter in the same book. Arkansas State opened the final period with an 8-0 run in the first two minutes to get back within five. The Bears would gain their footing and extend their lead to double figures twice more before Jackson's triple at the 7:17 mark tied the game for the first time. Palek answered with a three of his own for the Bears moments later, but it would be his last touch of the night, fouling out a minute later.
 
Missouri State finished 26-of-56 (.464) from the field, 6-of-21 (.286) from long range and was out-rebounded, 40-32, despite racking up 23 points on 16 Red Wolves turnovers.
 
Arkansas State finished 29-of-65 (.446) overall, 5-for-22 (.227) from bonus distance and notched 18 second-chance points off 14 offensive boards.
 
The Bears will look to rebound this weekend when they play their first road game of the campaign on Saturday with a 5 p.m. tipoff at UT Arlington (ESPN+). MoState's next home game will be on Saturday, Nov. 22 with a 4 p.m. matchup with UT Rio Grande Valley.
 
Tickets for the UTRGV game and all remaining home games, can be purchased at MissouriStateBears.com/tickets or by visiting the Athletics Box Office at Great Southern Bank Arena, (417) 836-7678, during regular box office hours.
 
A complete list of season promotions and ticket specials is also available at MissouriStateBears.com/promotions.