Following Sunday’s snub at the hands of the NCAA Tournament Committee, there was talk of Missouri State using the brush off as motivation to make a run deep into the NIT Tournament.

A one-game run probably was not what the Bears had in mind.

Brandon Heath’s three-pointer with 5.3 seconds remaining broke a 70-70 tie and sent the Aztecs of San Diego State past the Bears 74-70 and into the second round of the NIT.  San Diego’s victory earned them a trip to Syracuse for Monday’s contest with the Orangemen.

Deven Mitchell led Missouri State with 16 points, but the Bears shot just 38 percent from the field in the game.

The Bears’ disappointing season ends at 22-11.