HUNTSVILLE, Texas – Missouri State trailed by 17 points with just under 16 minutes to play and whittled its deficit to five in the final minute before eventually falling 86-81 to Sam Houston here Saturday in Conference USA action.
 
It marked the seventh straight single-digit conference loss for the Bears (13-16, 7-11 CUSA) who were led by a career-high 24 points from Michael Osei-Bonsu. Osei-Bonsu was 10-of-15 from the field.
 
Keith Palek III also contributed 21 points and 6 rebounds for Missouri State, while Trey Williams Jr. posted his first career double-double with 13 points and 11 assists, and Kobi Williams scored 14 points.
 
Trey Williams became the first Bears since Josh Webster (Feb. 17, 2019) to log double-figure assists in a game. He also snagged 3 steals in a 37-minute assignment.
 
Sam Houston (21-8, 13-5 MVC) logged its fifth consecutive CUSA victory thanks in part to 23 points by Jacob Walker, while Po'Boigh King contributed 17 points behind three triples.
 
After trailing by nine at the game's midway point, the Bears were outscored 13-5 in the first four minutes of the final stanza as the Bearkats built a 56-39 lead coming out of the under-16 timeout.
 
With 10:41 to play, Palek's efforts helped get the Bears back in the hunt with a pair of free throws and a layup to make it 65-54. Later, Osei-Bonsu scored a close-range bucket ahead of a triple from Kobi Williams – one of four on the afternoon for the junior.
 
Sam Houston built its lead back up to 13 with just under four minutes showing on the clock before Trey Williams knocked down a three and Osei-Bonsu reeled off six straight for the visitors. The Bears' blitz made it an 81-75 game with 1:08 to go.
 
Osei-Bonsu would score four more down the stretch, while Trey would knock down a pair of free throws and a second-chance bucket in the final minute, but SHSU went 5-of-6 at the line down the stretch to put the game away.
 
The Bears were 30-of-62 (.484) from the field, 6-for-21 (.286) from distance and 15-for-21 (.714) at the foul line with 17 assists and just 7 turnovers. MoState also racked up 48 points in the paint and scored 16 second-chance points on 12 offensive rebounds.
 
In his first career start, Melakih Cunningham had 5 points and 3 rebounds in 22 minutes.
 
Sam Houston finished 29-for-58 (.500) overall, 6-for-13 (.462) from downtown and 22-of-28 (.786) at the stripe with a 36-32 rebounding edge, 7 blocks and 8 turnovers.
 
In the first half, the Bearkats started the game with an 8-0 run and used a 9-0 surge later in the half to overcome a brief Missouri State advantage en route to a 43-34 halftime lead.
 
The Bears got 13 points from Palek and tallied 24 points in the paint, but could not find their mark from long range, going just 2-for-10 from downtown in the opening 20 minutes. Sam Houston was 5-of-9 from long range and shot 48 percent overall in the stanza to lead by as many as a dozen.
 
Missouri State finishes up the regular season with two home games this week – Thursday, March 5 (vs. WKU) and Saturday, March 7 (vs. Middle Tennessee) at home.
 
Tickets for all upcoming home games are available at MissouriStateBears.com/tickets or through the MSU Athletics Box Office at Great Southern Bank Arena, (417) 836-7678, during regular office hours. WKU Tickets | MTSU Tickets.
 
A complete list of season promotions and ticket specials is also available at MissouriStateBears.com/promotions.