Missouri State started all four of its seniors who combined for 30 points in a 72-56 conference win over visiting Loyola Chicago. The Bears (19-10, 9-8 MVC) got a double-double from Jarmar Gulley – his sixth of the league season – and 14 points from fellow senior Keith Pickens.
For the second game in a row MSU never trailed, and the Bears held off a late rush by the Ramblers in the final two minutes, but the Bears closed out the game on a 6-0 run, to avenge an earlier loss to the Ramblers.
Gulley scored 10 points and snagged 10 rebounds to go with 5 assists, while junior Christian Kirk tallied a game-high 16 points to help MSU’s winning efforts.
The Bears will conclude the regular season Saturday at 1 p.m., against No. 2-ranked Wichita State (30-0, 17-0 MVC) at Koch Arena. The game will be televised nationally on ESPN or ESPN2.
No. 2 Wichita State (30-0) made NCAA history Tuesday with its 69-49 win at Bradley. The Shockers became the first team in NCAA Division I men’s history to go 30-0 in the regular season. A total of 12 teams in NCAA history have now started 30-0 – the previous 11 needed league tournament or NCAA tournament games to reach 30-0. The last team to start 30-0 was UNLV in 1990-91.
