Matthew Lee is the kind of point guard a coach loves. Able to set up his teammates with passes, score when needed and stay cool under pressure.
And confidence? Lee oozes it.
“He thinks he’s the best point guard in the world,” Missouri State coach Dana Ford said of his 6-foot senior. “And in my opinion, he is. He definitely does not lack confidence at all. No winner does.”
Lee put up a career-high 28 points to go with seven assists on Saturday to help the Bears beat South Carolina State 92-74 for their fifth straight victory. Donovan Clay added 15 points and Cesare Edwared 13 and those two also grabbed eight rebounds apiece.
On a day that Missouri State great Danny Moore’s jersey went into the Great Southern Bank Arena rafters and the 1999 Sweet 16 Bears were recognized, Lee had a game befitting legends — and showed he’s serious about having an iconic season of his own.
Back from a knee injury that wrecked all but two games last season, the graduate senior continued his stellar play. Lee was MVP of the Paradise Jam in the U.S. Virgin Islands last week, where he averaged 13.3 points, 5.7 rebounds and 3.7 assists in leading Missouri State to a championship.
It’s the kind of play Ford envisioned when Lee transferred to Missouri State before last season after helping St. Peter’s to a memorable, Cinderella-style run to the NCAA Tournament’s Elite Eight.
“Matt’s been on the highest stage of our game, playing for an opportunity to go to the Final Four,” Ford said. “Nothing that he’s going to see this year, short of that, would surprise him. And he plays like that. It’s a really good leadership quality.”
Everyone knew that Lee could direct an offense with his ball-handling and passing, but his offense is perhaps surprising — especially after starting the season 0-for-9 from 3-point range. In the four games since, Lee is 11 for 23, including 4 of 7 on Saturday.
Free throws key in a rough one
Lee also went 14 of 16 at the free-throw line as the Bears made 34 of 43 against a South Carolina State team that took aggressive defense beyond its limit with 32 fouls.
Ever the competitor, when asked about his free-throw accuracy against the Bulldogs, Lee said, “I’m not too proud. I missed two.”
One of the NCAA’s worst free-throw teams a year ago, at 62.6 percent, Missouri State is shooting 70.1 so far this season.
“It’s been an emphasis for our entire team,” Lee said. “We shoot free throws every day, so it was good to go out and make those.”
Lee called his uptick in scoring of late a combination of shots going in and him doing a better job of picking his opportunities.
“A lot of people know I can facilitate really well and they’re looking for that rather than me scoring,” Lee said. “I’m just trying to balance the two.”
Bears come back from the U.S. Virgin Islands with purpose
As for his confidence, Lee said the Paradise Jam was good for him.
“But I’m a pretty confident person already,” he said. “I was just happy for the (tournament) win. Our team needed that and I felt like everybody played well there.”
Edwards said teammates have to keep their eyes wide open when Lee has the ball in his hands.
“He can really pass the ball,” Edwards said. “And he’s a lot stronger than he looks. I love the way he can shoot and pass the ball for sure. When I first got here, I didn’t get to see play like that because of his injury from the previous season.
“I’m enjoying the way he plays and I love the way he plays.”
Lee isn’t much for dwelling on the feel-good vibes of his return from the injury, saying he simply wants to win games. The Bears are doing just that, with the winning streak after dropping the season opener at West Virginia.
The style of play in the latest was fine with Lee, who said the Bears are well-suited for an opponent that wants to test them physically.
“In practice we don’t call very many fouls. We’re used to playing physical like this,” Lee said. “Now we just have refs out there.”
Seven and a half shutout minutes
Showing there was no tropical hangover, no post-Thanksgiving lethargy and no looking ahead to the onset of Missouri Valley Conference play the Bears roared to a 21-0 lead in the opening seven minutes.
Damien Mayo Jr. scored the first five of the game, then had a steal, but he also picked up his second foul two minutes into the action. But that didn’t slow down the Bears,
Lee buried a 3-pointer and it was 10-0 just 3 1/2 minutes into the game. N.J. Benson’s jam, off a pass from Alston Mason, sent the lead to 15-0. Clay’s 3-pointer made it 19-0 as the Bulldogs were 0-for-10 from the field with five turnovers.
The visitor finally got on the board at the 11:24 mark on Wilson Dubinsky’s 3-pointer. By then, the Bears led 21-3 and - seconds later - Chance Moore answered with a 3-pointer on the other end.
“We knew this team was gonna come out and give us a fight. We came out and punched them first,” Lee said. “We couldn’t finish the half how we wanted, but it was a good start for us.”
About the only downside of the first half for the Bears was turnovers. They had nine with five minutes to go in the half and South Carolina State took advantage to cut the lead to 32-21.
It was 39-30 just over a minute before the break when Lee’s two free throws put the lead back to double digits. The Bears made it to the half with a 44-32 lead after a Benson offensive rebound and basket, but their 13 turnovers matched the season average.
“We were locked in defensively and our guys did a fairly good job,” Ford said. “We made them miss and we have been doing a fairly good job defensively. But the next 10 minutes, we didn’t make them miss. That was what we talked about at halftime.
“Nevertheless, a great start. When you give yourself a 21-point cushion, most of the time you are going to win.”
Busy day for Missouri State's training staff
South Carolina State (2-5) whittled the lead to eight midway through the second half before the Bears regained command. The biggest concern is a growing injury list for the Bears.
Mason went to the bench, unable to bear weight on his right foot, with 13:47 remaining. Mason was helped to the locker room, but jogged back to the bench a few minutes later and checked back into the game.
Mayo, with seven points in eight first-half minutes, did not return and N.J. Benson sat out the entire second half as well. Tyler Bey didn’t suit up after injuring a knee at the Paradise Jam.
“Mayo’s getting an x-ray. Someone stepped on his foot,” Ford said. “Alston tweaked his ankle and will have treatment tomorrow. N.J. has something in his knee and will have treatment tomorrow. Tyler Bey is out 2-4 weeks with a sprained MCL.”
Ford added that Clay played through a Grade-2 ankle sprain, going 32 minutes. Freshman Davion Hill remains away from the team with what Ford terms personal matters back home in Pennsylvania.
“He will be back with the team after the holidays,” Ford said of Hill.
Harkening back to the heyday of '99
(Photo by Jym Wilson)
Ford said that aside from winning, doing so in convincing fashion with Moore and the 1999 Bears, including then-coach Steve Alford on hand, was a highlight of the afternoon
“We talked to our guys briefly about it before the game,” Ford said, adding that Moore and some of his 1999 teammates came to the locker room after the game to mingle with the current Bears. “I think it’s important when our current players can see those guys, talk to them and ask them questions. That’s what this is all about.
“You want teams that can make it to the NCAA Tournament and in our case, that’s the last team to do it. For them to be here, with a team that has those types of goals, that may be the best thing about today and what they’re saying in the locker room.”
The Bears are off until Wednesday when they play host to surprising Evansville (6-0) in a Missouri Valley Conference opener. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m.
(Photo by Jym Wilson)
