The Missouri State basketball team went 2-0 in the preseason after Tuesday night’s 79-52 win over Henderson State. Newcomers Jermaine Mallet and Adam Leonard each scored 15. Sophomore Kyle Weems added 14. Mallett also had a game high seven rebounds.
The Bears used the three ball early to attack the Henderson State zone as Leonard scored the first nine points for the Bears for a 9-3 start. After the Reddies closed the gap to 24-16 with 6:34 to go in the opening half, Weems scored MSU’s next six points to build a 12-point advantage, 30-18, the largest of the first half for Cuonzo Martin’s squad.
Henderson managed to get the game to four at 33-29 with less than a minute to go in the first half. However, Mallett hit a jumper just before the half to give the Bears a 35-29 lead at the break.
In the second half s Weems and Mallett teamed up to hit the first nine points of the second half for MSU, and a Weems jumper just before the shot clock expired with 11:02 to play made it a 55-40 game. The Bears shot 57.6 percent from the field in the second half and connected on 6-of-10 three-pointers in the second half.
