A three-pointer by Kyle Weems with 2.5 seconds left gave the Missouri State Bears a 58-57 win over the defending Missouri Valley Conference champion Northern Iowa Panthers on Wednesday night.
Weems’ string of four straight 20-point scoring efforts was snapped, but he surpassed 1,000 career points in his 79th game and finished with 12. The Bears(9-3) win also snapped a 21-game home winning streak by UNI (9-4).
The Bears were trailing 52-46 with 3:38 to play on a pair of free throws by Kwadzo Ahelegbe. He finished with a game-high 25 points, also went over the 1,000-point plateau, and accounted for 11 of UNI’s final 14 points.
After Ahelegbe’s free throws, the Bears cut the lead to three on a jumper by Weems and a free throw with 2:19 to play. The Bears got a game-tying three from Adam Leonard at the 1:40 mark to knot the game, 52-52. UNI went up 57-55 with just under 12 ticks remaining.
The Bears drove the floor and found Weems on the left wing, and his shot fake opened up a wide-open three-point attempt which he drained to give MSU the win. A last-second three-point attempt by Anthony James bounced off the rim as the final horn sounded.
Jermaine Mallett, who had 12 points in the first half, led MSU with 14, while Leonard added 11. The Bears out-rebounded UNI 38-27 and committed just 13 turnovers.
MSU was 22-for-57 (.386) from the field and 7-for-22 (.318) beyond the arc, while making 7-of-11 (.636) free throws.
Story courtesy of Missouri State athletics.
