SPRINGFIELD – Missouri State shot 53 percent from the field and led by as many as 28 en route to a 79-55 home win over UTEP here Friday in a decisive Conference USA victory for the Bears (8-5, 2-0 CUSA).
 
It marked MoState's fourth straight victory overall and the club's first 2-0 start in conference play since 2021-22.
 
Antwan Burnett was 4-for-4 from the field and accounted for 11 points off the bench for Missouri State, while Kobi Williams posted a game-high 20 points, including 9-of-10 from the free throw line. Freshman Trey Williams Jr. notched 15 points in the victory with four triples, and Keith Palek III scored 13 points while dishing out 5 assists. Michael Osei-Bonsu snagged a game-high 7 rebounds for the maroon side, scoring 8 points with 5 helpers and 3 steals.
 
UTEP (4-9, 0-2 CUSA) got 12 points apiece from Elijah Jones and Trey Horton. Jones led the Miners with 5 rebounds, while Horton was 3-for-5 from long range, including a clutch triple with 10:16 remaining in the game to pull the visitors within 58-46 after an 11-3 surge.
 
The Bears rallied back with a Burnett free throw, a three from Kobi Williams and a dunk by Darrion Sutton to extend MSU's lead to 64-46 at the under-eight media timeout.
 
From there, the Bears held UTEP to just one field goal the rest of the contest – a three by Horton with 90 seconds left in the game – while turning to Osei-Bonsu and Kobi Williams to secure the victory.
 
Osei-Bonsu's personal 4-0 surge stretched MSU's lead back to 20-plus points for the first time since the 14:22 mark of the second half. From there, Kobi went 4-for-4 at the line, scored on a stick-back from close range and knocked down a triple with a minute to play to put things out of reach.
 
For the game, the Bears were 26-of-49 (.531) overall, 8-for-19 (.421) from long distance and 19-of-26 (.731) at the line with a 31-25 rebounding advantage, including 20 second-chance points from 12 offensive caroms. MSU also racked up 16 assists on its 26 made baskets.
 
UTEP was 19-for-48 (.396) overall, 4-of-15 (.267) from downtown and 13-of-20 (.650) at the line with 11 turnovers. Horton accounted for 12 of the Miners' 14 bench points on the night.
 
In the first half, the Bears shot 66.7 percent and ended the period on a 13-0 run to lead 49-23 at the intermission. Trey Williams Jr. and Palek scored a dozen apiece in the opening 20 minutes with Burnett providing 10 points off the bench, including a personal 8-0 run midway through the half that extended MSU's lead from nine to 15.
 
Likewise, MSU out-rebounded UTEP by an 18-10 margin in the opening stanza, boasted 20 points in the paint and tallied assists on 12 of its 18 field goals.
 
The Bears conclude their two-game CUSA home swing on Sunday at Great Southern Bank Arena when they host New Mexico State (8-4, 1-1 CUSA) at 2 p.m. Tickets for the NM State 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 special 2026 New Year's Ticket Special – 26 percent off – is also available for Sunday's game.
 
A complete list of season promotions and ticket specials is also available at MissouriStateBears.com/promotions.