Riding the back of Alston Mason’s career offensive night and Donovan Clay’s lockdown defense, Missouri State’s basketball team found a much-needed dose of January success.
“It shows the character of our team,” Mason said after his 36 points fueled the 83-80, double-overtime upset of Drake on Wednesday night, Jan. 24, in front of an announced 2,461 fans at Great Southern Bank Arena.
Down 15 in the first minute of the second half to one of the Missouri Valley Conference’s co-leaders, the Bears were staring at their sixth loss in seven games this month. Instead of folding, Missouri State fought back.
“We’re capable of being the team that started off the season really good and beating some (good) teams,” Mason said after logging 45 minutes. “We’ve been having a slow stretch, but this was a big game for us. They were the No. 1 team.
“We can wake people up and show people who we can be and show our team who we can be. Getting this win meant a lot.”
Mason scored 29 of his points after halftime, including 12 in a row at one stretch during the final 12 minutes of regulation. But it took Nick Kramer’s 8-foot baseline jumper on a rebound of Mason’s missed 3-point shot, with one second left, to force overtime.
Edwards led way in second overtime
The first overtime ended 71-all with Mason — who did not play in the Bears’ early December 17-point loss at Drake due to an ankle injury — hitting a 3-pointer after Drake had taken a four-point lead. In the second overtime, Cesare Edwards stepped up with seven points as the Bears (11-9 overall, 3-6 Valley) finally put it away.
“In the overtime my coaches had the confidence in me to really go down, score the ball and really rely on me,” said Edwards, who scored against Drake’s massive 6-11 center Darnell Brodie. “I just did what I had to do.”
Clay also had a big basket in the second overtime, giving the Bears an 82-79 lead with 42 seconds to go. But his most important work came in throwing a defensive shutout at Drake’s Tucker DeVries, the Valley’s best offensive player.
DeVries scored all 18 of his points in the first half, including a 3-pointer at the halftime buzzer that put Drake in front 42-29. DeVries only took four shots the rest of the way with Clay — and Chance Moore briefly — putting on the defensive hard hat.
“I think it was the reason that we probably won the game,” Bears coach Dana Ford said of the defense. “One big reason. We went in at halftime and tried to go there and think about adjustments. We sat there as coaches for about 10 minutes.
“The adjustment was, he had 18 of their 42. If he’s gonna get another 18, we’re not gonna beat them. We showed a little earlier on his ball screens in the second half. In the first half we were a little late, waiting on the dribble. He’s a good player. He didn’t dribble, he just shot it. The second half we forced him to pass it.
Teammates say Clay is ‘best defender in the league'
“He’s a great player, but Donny’s the best defender in the league. It’s not even close. I know other people get the awards because they get the stats, but we don’t talk about stats. We just talk about stops. That guy’s a potential NBA player and he held him scoreless for a half — along with Chance. He had a run and did a good job as well.”
Mason smiled when asked about Clay’s contributions.
“Everyone knows what Donny is capable of defensively,” Mason said. “He’s been on the all-defensive team multiple times in this league. Coach trusts him enough to be able to guard DeVries and slow him down. We all trust Donny and what he can do for us.”
Both teams opened the game with high-level offense. Missouri State made eight of its first nine shots to lead 18-15 after 5 ½ minutes. Drake (16-4, 7-2) opened the game six of seven from the field.
Things then cooled off, both ways. The Bears went four minutes without a point, with Matthew Lee’s jumper breaking the streak before he followed with a 3-pointer a minute later to tie the game at 23-all.
The Bears wouldn’t score again for nearly eight minutes. In the interim, Drake used a 16-0 run to surge ahead 39-23. Chance Moore and Raphe Ayres finally made back-to-back 3-pointers to break the lengthy Missouri State drought, but DeVries fired in a 3 ahead of the buzzer for a 42-29 halftime lead.
After its red-hot start, the Bears missed 20 of 24 field-goal attempts the rest of the half. Things did not look good. At all.
Ford gets 100th victory after strong second half start
But unlike the five other losses this month, some against inferior opponents, the Bears came roaring back. They scored eight straight early in the second half to get back into the game and relentlessly played with not only what Ford calls the three Es — energy, effort, enthusiasm — but also competed to a level not seen since a Dec. 23 win at St. Mary’s.
They’ve beaten Drake three straight years at GSB Arena. Considering they trailed by 16 late in the first half, the Bears matched the third-largest comeback for victory in program history.
Ford’s 100th victory as Bears’ coach was all about the players, he said.
“They just did the things that you have to do in order to beat a good team. I’m glad to see that there's still a good team in our locker room,” Ford said. “A lot of times when you’re in a rut, it’s who you’re playing against. Our guys were really jacked up for Drake. Our opponent had a lot to do with it, on top of the fact that our guys haven’t stopped working hard.
“It’s not like they would not be prepared to win a game like this. We had a nice, spirited practice (Tuesday). The fact that it was Drake and that we had a pretty good week preparing gave us an opportunity to show what we’re still capable of.
“Those losses take so much wind out of you that sometimes you need something to spark you.”
There’s no substitute for confidence in sports, no matter the sport. Mason said it’s tough when that confidence is trampled, as it had been throughout the 1-5 stretch that began with a two-point, home-court heartbreaking loss to Northern Iowa.
Mason said it was time to say enough is enough.
“It sucks. I hate losing, whatever it is I’m doing,” Mason said. “But when you get to a point where your back is to the wall, you have to fight your way out of it. That was kind of our approach. That was my approach tonight.
“Being able to fight out of that position and get us into this position is a turning point for me and hopefully our team. Hopefully we are able to build on this.”
The Bears will see if they are able to build on the success on Saturday when they play at Valparaiso in a 3 p.m. tipoff.
Missouri State stars
Following Bears’ home games, Lyndal Scranton will recognize his top three stars of the game. From Wednesday night’s 83-80 double-overtime victory over Drake:
*** There’s no doubt about this one. Guard Alston Mason scored a career-high 36 points — most by a Bear since Isaiah Mosley had 40 at Northern Iowa on Jan. 22, 2022. Mason scored 12 in a row at one stretch of the second half, keeping MSU in it. He went 13 of 28 from the field and made 5 of 11 3-pointers.
** Donovan Clay is renowned for his outstanding defense. After Drake’s Tucker DeVries scored 18 in the first half, Clay (with Chance Moore lending a helping hand) shut out the league’s best offensive player the rest of the way. DeVries was 0-for-4 from the field in the second half and overtime. Clay also had eight points, eight rebounds and four assists.
* With Mason carrying the scoring load, Cesare Edwards gave the Bears a needed second-scoring option with seven points in the second overtime. Edwards’ 3-pointer gave MSU a 78-76 lead with two minutes remaining and the Bears stayed ahead until the finish line.
