NORMAL, Ill. – In a game that featured nine tie scores and 19 lead changes, Illinois State was unable to use a late push in a seven-point, 74-67 loss in the first of two games against the Missouri State Bears.
DJ Horne narrowly missed a career-high by scoring 23 points, making 8-of-18 of his shots from the field, 3-of-5 from beyond the arc, and a perfect 4-of-4 at the free throw line. Antonio Reeves kept his strong play going by scoring 17 points, including making 3-of-7 from long range and pulled down six rebounds. Dusan Mahorcic scored a dozen points while grabbing a team-best eight rebounds in the loss.
Horne got the scoring started in the game with a three-pointer on the first possession of the game. Over the next eight minutes the lead changed hands nine times, the ninth coming with just under 12 minutes left in the half when Missouri State ran off eight consecutive points to lead by seven. The Redbirds responded with eight straight points of their own on a Horne three-pointer, a pair of Harouna Sissoko free throws, and a three-pointer by Reeves to re-secure a Redbird lead. Six more lead changes happened over the final seven and a half minutes, as the teams went into the locker room knotted in a 36-36 tie.
Three more lead changes opened the second half, as the teams were tied at 43 following a Horne jumper. The Redbird offense went cold, as Missouri State ran off a 10-1 run to push ahead to nine, the largest margin for either team in the game. The Redbirds started chipping away at the deficit, climbing to within as few as one with 5:34 to play; however, an 8-0 Bear run pushed the visitor lead back to nine with 2:29 to play in the game. ISU fought back to get to within five, but that would be as close as the hosts would come as Missouri State iced the game down the stretch by making 7-of-10 free throws over the final minute and a half.
Missouri State's Isiaih Mosley scored a team-high 19 points while dishing out six assists, while Gaige Prim picked up a 14-point, 11-rebound double-double.
The teams return to Redbird Arena on Sunday afternoon with a 2 p.m. tip-off in the two-game series finale.
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