Late-game heroics from Chance Moore and Donovan Clay helped Missouri State men’s basketball rally from as many as 12 in the second half for their third-straight victory.
The Bears (13-9, 5-6) came back for a 76-75 overtime win over Southern Illinois (14-8, 6-5) on Wednesday night at the Banterra Center in Carbondale, Illinois.
Moore, who had struggled in recent weeks, scored the game-tying bucket with 18 seconds remaining. Clay made the game-winning jumper with 4.8 seconds left to secure the Bears their third-straight win.
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Moore finished the game with 13 points on 5 of 6 shooting with Clay leading the team with 24 points on an efficient 12 of 17 from the field.
Southern Illinois basketball got way too many open looks from 3 in the first half
The Salukis finished the first half hitting 8 of 15 shots from beyond the arc and held the Bears to 41.4% from the field.
SIU star Xavier Johnson, one of the frontrunners for the Missouri Valley Conference’s Player of the Year honor, scored 15 points while knocking down three of the shots from deep. Trent Brown and Troy D’Amico each hit a pair.
Missouri State struggled to find consistent offense and didn’t make a shot from the field over the final 2:36 of the period. Donovan Clay picked up three fouls in the first half but tied Cesare Edwards for the team lead with eight points.
SIU held Missouri State standout guard Alston Mason to 1 of 7 from the field and 0 for 6 from deep. He scored six points in the first 20 minutes as the Bears trailed 42-31 at the break.
Missouri State basketball’s defense woke up and the Bears made it a game
Out of halftime, Southern Illinois cooled down and only made four of its first 15 shots. A 7-0 run by the Bears over a two-and-a-half minute stretch that was capped off by a Chance Moore triple brought the game within five with 9:53 left.
Chance Moore sends game to overtime
Southern Illinois didn’t make a shot from the field for over six-and-a-half minutes but that didn’t stop the Salukis from going on a 7-0 run to extend their lead back up to 11. Johnson ended the drought with a 3 that felt like a dagger.
But it wasn’t. The Bears didn’t lie down and clamped down defensively. A 6-0 run with under three minutes left brought the game within two after Damien Mayo Jr. finished off a three-point play with 1:57 remaining.
Neither team scored until the final seconds when the Bears needed a basket the most. Moore, who had been struggling in recent weeks, got an offensive board with about 18 seconds to go to tie the game. The Bears got a stop at the other end to send the game to overtime.
Donovan Clay hits game-winner in overtime
Moore continued his late-game heroics by knocking down a 3 with 1:50 remaining to take a three-point lead. A Saluki travel was followed by a Clay jumper to take a five-point lead; MSU’s largest of the game to that point.
D’Amico responded by hitting a 3 with a minute to cut the Bears’ lead to two. Johnson later hit a pair of free throws to tie it up.
With 4.8 seconds remaining, Clay made what turned out to be the game-winning jumper. Southern Illinois turned the ball over on the in-bounds play out of a timeout which sent Edwards to the line to hit a pair of free throws to go up by four. Johnson made a meaningless half-court 3 at the horn.
Up next
The Bears will return home for a 1 p.m. game against Belmont on Saturday. The Bruins (12-10, 5-6) are coming off a 78-72 loss at Indiana State. The Bruins led by 19 at one point but couldn’t hold on.
Wyatt D. Wheeler is a reporter and columnist with the Springfield News-Leader. You can contact him at 417-371-6987, by email at [email protected] or X at @WyattWheeler_NL.