Rarely is beating the last-place team a cause for celebration, and certainly there were no balloons falling from the Great Southern Bank Arena rafters after Missouri State’s comeback triumph over Valparaiso.
But considering the Bears’ scenario — best scorer sidelined with illness, another in serious foul trouble and the team trailing by 10 with under eight minutes remaining — the 82-74 win on Feb. 17 felt pretty darned good.
“We really had to work for this one,” said Chance Moore, who overcame foul trouble for a game-high 25 points. “It wasn’t going in our favor most of the game. We just had to want it more than the other team.”
Missouri State (15-12 overall, 7-9 Missouri Valley Conference) appeared headed for a fourth straight defeat after Valparaiso’s Isaiah Stafford put the Beacons (6-21, 2-14) in front 72-64 with 7:48 remaining in the game.
Matthew Lee pours on the gas late in game
Despite going for five straight failed possessions over the next three minutes, the Bears reeled off 18 points in a row to seize the day. Valparaiso didn’t score again until Kasper Sepp’s layup at the buzzer.
“It was just kind of time to win,” Missouri State guard Matthew Lee said. “There’s not much X's and O's that you can talk about. Once it gets under eight (minutes), you just have to have the will to win. I feel like we had that tonight.”
Lee was tremendous down the stretch. He had nine points and three assists, accounting for 15 of the 18 decisive points. His jumper tied the game at 72-all with 2:55 to go. Lee then threw a lob pass to N.J. Benson for a dunk to give the Bears their first lead since early in the second half.
Assuming the role of closer, Lee served up the knockout with an up-and-under layup, a pass to Moore that led to a three-point play and a long 3-pointer as the shot clock was running out for an 81-72 lead at the 23-second mark.
Valparaiso went 12 straight possessions without a point until the meaningless bucket at the finish line.
“Our defense got a little better, we grabbed some 50-50 balls and obviously we made some nice plays offensively,” Bears coach Dana Ford said of the terrific finish. “Matt got downhill, N.J. finished and then our press gave us a little energy as well.
“We picked up our urgency, and our toughness.”
Alston Mason misses game, virus keeps snaring Bears
Missouri State was without Alston Mason, who is among the Valley leaders with his 17.7-point average. Mason is one of many Bears who have — or have had — flu-like symptoms over the last couple of weeks.
Mason played with the illness in a loss at Murray State on Feb. 14. He didn’t play well and was unable to practice the day before Valparaiso came to town.
Then Moore — whom Valparaiso had no answer for — was sidelined after picking up his third foul midway through the first half. He already had 11 points as Missouri State took a 19-14 lead. But without him, Valparaiso went up by 10 late in the first half before the Bears went to the break behind 41-38.
The Bears had a five-point lead when Valparaiso hit six of its next seven shots, including a trio of 3-pointers, and led 61-58. Moore picked up his fourth foul and headed to the bench with 11:39 to play and the Bears soon were down 68-58 with 10:21 remaining.
Moore returned with 10:17 remaining and didn’t foul out, or come out again.
“We didn’t have a lot of rhythm,” Ford said. “When you lose Alston, a guy averaging almost 20 a game, that’s a big loss. Then you lose Chance and from an offensively standpoint, we’re out of rhythm.
“We could have had a bigger cushion had we grabbed the ball. But I just saw our guys trying to do some things they don’t need to try and do. But they’re trying to figure it out without our two better offensive players. We weathered the storm and it’s like that sometimes.”
Moore, who had a round of illness that left him less than his best in a close loss seven days earlier against Indiana State, said the turnaround was about determination.
“We had been struggling the whole game,” Moore said. “We just kept digging, kept fighting. Coach throwing in that 2-2-1 press got to them a little bit and we stuck with it. We kept the intensity high and started switching everything (on defense). It was giving them problems.”
Coach searches for Bears hungry to eat
Ford has mentioned a few times in recent weeks that his team needed a tougher mind-set, someone to display some killer instinct. Lee filled that role with his second straight strong game after a prolonged slump.
Having Lee, a standout in the season’s first month back in form, would be big if the Bears are to make a run up the standings in the final two weeks. Four regular-season games remain.
Along with 19 points, Lee had eight assists and five turnovers in 40 minutes. This after 22 points, seven assists and three turnovers in the previous game.
“The last game he was really good,” Ford said. “Tonight, I don’t know that he started off great, but he did finish well. He’s played a lot of games. He’s played a lot of big games this time of year. Matt’s heart is in the right place and that helps him be a better player.
“I’ve been hard on him. Maybe that took some time to get through and adjust to. But I’ve been hard on him because I want what’s best for him. I think he understands what it takes. He’s playing a lot better right now and for us, it’s a really good time for him to be playing better.”
Lee downplayed his return to form, saying it’s more about the support of his teammates - and the calendar.
“Just kind of getting out of my own way. Playing free,” Lee said. “Just being confident all around and being confident in my teammates. My teammates have been helping me a lot through that rough patch.
“March is coming up. We’ve got to win.”
The Bears, who six times have rallied from double-digit deficits to win this season - play host to third-place Bradley at 7 p.m., Feb. 21.
Nick Kramer done for the season
Missouri State freshman guard Nick Kramer said he will miss the remainder of the season with an injured left knee. Kramer suffered the injury in practice on Feb. 2 and it was first believed that the injury would sideline him only for a couple of weeks. Instead, he will need surgery.
Kramer said he plans to be ready for the start of the 2024-25 season. The transfer from Saint Louis University had worked his way into the starting lineup prior to the injury after missing the season’s first two months rehabbing offseason back surgery.
He averaged 3.8 points in eight games with a memorable buzzer-beating jumper to send the Bears’ game with Drake on Jan. 24 into overtime. Missouri State eventually got the win.
Missouri State stars
During Missouri State games he covers, Lyndal Scranton will recognize his top three stars of the game. From the 82-74 victory over Valparaiso on Feb. 17:
*** Chance Moore had 25 points in 29 minutes, making 10 of 14 shots from the field to go with 9 rebounds. The Bears were a plus-21 (net scoring total) when Moore was on the floor with N.J. Benson’s plus-12 next.
** Matthew Lee took over the game down the stretch, scoring or assistant on 15 of the Bears’ points during an 18-0 run over the final 4:48. Lee finished with 19 points, 8 assists and 5 turnovers.
* N.J. Benson had 18 points and 13 rebounds for his sixth double-double of the season.
