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The Missouri State Bears get 33 points from junior standout Isiaih Mosley and defeat the Southern Illinois Salukis 81-76 Wednesday night at JQH Arena.
Mosley, coming off a 43 point performance in last Saturday’s loss two Northern Iowa, went 10-18 from the field, including three treys as the Bears pulled away late in a game that stayed close for much of the night.
The guard from Columbia Rock Bridge went 10-11 from the free throw line.
MSU held a 36-34 lead at halftime, then extended the margin to nine, 55-46, when Mosley buried a three with 11:04 left in regulation.
A three pointer by Lance Jones with 8:33 remaining got the Salukis within three, 57-54, but they would pull no closer.
SIU got a three pointer by Marcus Domask with 26.9 seconds left to get it back to a three point game, 77-74, but Mosley and Isaac Haney went 4-4 from the free throw line in the final 23 seconds to seal the win.
As a team, MSU went 19-22 from the foul line and made their final 18 attempts, including 8-8 in the final 60 seconds.
The Salukis hit 18 of 23 shots from the line.
The Bears shot 52.8% from the field (28-53), while SIU hit 40.7% (22-54).
SIU drained 14 three pointers compared to six for the Bears, but MSU dominated in the paint, outscoring Southern Illinois 40-10.
Donovan Clay scored 13 points and Gaige Prim added 12 for the Bears, who improve to 12-6 overall, 3-2 in the Missouri Valley Conference.
The Salukis, who got 20 points from Domask, 16 from Steven Verplancken, and 16 from Ben Coupet, Junior, drop to 9-6 overall, 2-1 in the league.
Missouri State will play at Valparaiso on Saturday.
Tipoff is set for 4:00 p.m.
Bears Head Coach Dana Ford addressed the media following the game.
