NEWARK, Del. – Missouri State used solid defense and a timely second-half run to cruise past Delaware, 61-43, here Monday in the Conference USA debut for both clubs.
 
Zaxton King led three Bears in double figures with 16 points, while Keith Palek III scored 14, and Trey Williams Jr. added 10. Antwan Burnett tallied a game-high 11 rebounds for the Bears off the bench.
 
The win gave the Bears (7-5, 1-0) their first road win of the season and first-ever CUSA victory.
 
Delaware (4-8, 0-1) got 12 points and 11 rebounds from Macon Emory.
 
A key 13-2 run by MoState early in the second half stretched a 10-point halftime lead to 21 with five different players factoring into the three-minute surge. Kobi Williams' free throws with 15:52 left in the game made it a 42-21 game and pushed the visitors ahead by 20 for the first time.
 
King's third 3-pointer of the game with 8:37 left in the contest gave the Bears their biggest lead of the afternoon, 55-31. Later, Palek's layup at the six-minute mark pushed the scored to 57-33.
 
The Bears shot 48 percent in the second half (12 of 25) and converted 14-of-19 (.737) free throws for the game, while out-rebounding the Blue Hens, 35-30.
 
For the game, Missouri State was 20-for-50 (.400) from the field and 7-of-22 (.318) from bonus distance with 9 assists, 9 steals and 10 turnovers.
 
Delaware was 13-for-43 (.302) overall, 6-for-20 (.300) from long range and 11-of-16 (.688) at the line with 15 turnovers.
 
In the first half, the Bears led by as many as 11 before settling in to a 27-17 intermission advantage. Palek led all players with 8 points and 5 rebounds in the opening stanza, including 7 points on a 9-5 min-run by the visitors midway through the half.
 
MoState pushed ahead 25-14 in the final minute of the half on a close-range bucket by Trey Williams Jr., who opened the game with a 3-pointer in the opening minute.
 
The Bears return to Great Southern Bank Arena on Friday to take on UTEP at 7 p.m. Tickets for the UTEP 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.