The Bears Christian Kirk shoots over an ORU defender (photo/Missouri State Athletics)

The Bears Christian Kirk shoots over an ORU defender (photo/Missouri State Athletics)

Missouri State’s defense held visiting Oral Roberts to just four second-half field goals and 32% shooting for the game in a 52-45 Bears’ non-conference win here Monday, making up for  last week’s 19-point loss to the Golden Eagles in Tulsa.  The Bears (6-6) got 16 points from Marcus Marshall and 10 from Loomis Gerring, while Tyler McCullough snagged a game-high 7 rebounds in his return to the starting lineup.

Oral Roberts (4-7), which was held to just 14 points in the second half, got 12 points apiece from Obi Emegano and Bobby Word for the game.

After falling behind by 10 in the first half, the Bears stepped up their defense when it counted, forcing ORU into missing its final four field goal attempts of the first half and 23 of its last 27 on the night. Scott Sutton’s squad was just 4-for-23 (.174) in the second half and finished 16-for-50 overall.

It didn’t take Missouri State long to close its double-figure deficit within striking distance as McCullough scored the first two baskets of the second half, before Marshall knocked down a three-pointer and Dorrian Williams hit a jumper off the glass to make it a 33-31 game less than five minutes into the second period.  The Bears finally tied the game with 10:30 to play and grabbed their first lead with 4:44 to play.

MSU finished just 19-for-52 (.365) from the field overall, and the Bears struggled with 1-of-10 (.100) from three-point range.

The Bears will now be off nine days until beginning conference play at Southern Illinois on Dec. 31