Kyle Weems

SPRINGFIELD, Mo.  -- Kyle Weems was glowing on Wednesday when he met up with his friends at The Courts in Springfield for some summer league basketball. Earlier Wednesday, Weems signed his first pro contract with the Telekom Bonn basketball team in Germany.  Weems says the team is in the first division of Germany's basketball league and is a solid squad.  Bonn is the 19th largest city in Germany. Weems just completed summer league in the NBA.  The second leading scorer all time in Missouri State University history said he learned a lot at the summer league, but chose playing overseas over joining the NBA's Developmental League.  Weems said it was a tough environment and he didn't shoot as well as he'd like.

BOSTON, Mass. - Missouri State senior Kyle Weems has been named as a finalist for the Mid-Major National Player of the Year. Weems and 24 finalists for the Lou Henson Award were announced late Friday (Feb. 17) by POINT 3 Basketball and CollegeInsider.com. A native of Topeka, Kan., Weems was a 2011 Associated Press All-American for the Bears and earned the MVC Larry Bird Player of the Year Award. He was also the MVC Preseason Player of the Year in 2011-12 and is averaging 15.8 points and 7.1 rebounds per game with 54 three-pointers and an 80-percent free throw clip.

CARBONDALE, Ill. - Missouri State (15-11, 8-6) picked up its eighth road victory of the season here Wednesday with a 56-54 win at Southern Illinois (8-17, 5-9), holding off a late surge by the Salukis to win for the second straight win at SIU Arena. The Bears got 18 points from Caleb Patterson and 14 from Kyle Weems while firing at a 51.2 percent clip to overcome a 17-turnover night and improve to 8-6 in the league. The Bears took a 56-52 lead on a tip-in by Weems with 43.6 seconds left.

LAS VEGAS, Nev. - The Missouri State Bears' let one slip away in Las Vegas. Kevin Jones scored 16 points and grabbed 13 rebounds to lead the West Virginia Mountaineers to a 70-68 overtime victory Thursday night against Missouri State in the Las Vegas Classic. The Bears led by as many as ten in the second-half before West Virginia mounted a comeback.  Trailing 63-60, Gary Browne stpped back and hit a 3-pointer with 1.6 seconds remaining in regulation to send the game to overtime.  The Bears had led by as many as five in the last minute.

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. - With just six games remaining on the 2011-12 conference slate, Missouri State takes to the road Saturday (7:05 p.m.) to battle the Drake Bulldogs in a pivotal Valley contest.  Both teams are part of a four-team log jam (with Illinois State and Evansville) in a third-place tie in the MVC standings. Two more teams, Northern Iowa and Indiana State, sit at 5-7 headed into this weekend's action with just one game separating third and eighth place in the ever-competitive Valley race.

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -  Clones of the Jim Rome radio program will get a chance to hear Missouri State senior forward Kyle Weems on the show Wednesday (Sept. 14) afternoon.  Weems, the 2011 Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Year, is scheduled to appear at 12:30 p.m. (Central) as part of the program's ongoing "Kyle" series. The Jim Rome Show has had at least one sports-related guest named Kyle on the program every day since August 1.  Should the streak continue Tuesday, Weems would be the 26 th Kyle to appear on the show.

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. - Although the opportunity to play in the postseason for a third straight season was a possibility for the Missouri State University men's basketball program, Director of Athletics Kyle Moats announced Monday (March 5), the Bears will not participate in the College Basketball Invitational or CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament. “Our coaches can immediately begin working with our returning players, focusing on recruiting and concentrating on our academic responsibilities,” Moats explained.

ST. LOUIS -- Kyle Weems (photo) is the Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Week, and Anthony Downing earned MVC Newcomer of the Week honors. Weems (Sr., F, Topeka, Kan.) helped Missouri State to a 2-0 start in league play with a career-high 31-point output in Wednesday's win at No. 19 Creighton and 22 points in Saturday's home win over Drake.  He was 21-for-34 (.618) from the field in two games, including 5-of-6 (.833) from three-point range. Weems also led MSU in rebounding in both contests, averaging 8.0 caroms per game.  Weems was 11-for-22 from the field against Creighton with 7 rebounds and knocked down all six free throws he attempted in the final 42 seconds to help the Bears secure their first-ever road win against a ranked opponent.

ST. LOUIS, Mo. - For the fourth time this season, Missouri State junior guard Anthony Downing (Atchison, Kan.), a transfer from Independence (Kan.) Community College, has been named Missouri Valley Conference Newcomer of the Week, the league announced Monday (Feb. 20). Downing averaged a team-high 15.0 points per game over the last two games while firing at an impressive 13-for-25 clip from the perimeter. He was 3-for-3 from three-point distance against No. 24 Wichita State on Feb. 15, helping establish himself as one of the league's top-scoring juniors.

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- In front of a crowd of 5,089, the Missouri State Bears took to the JQH Arena court for the first time since celebrating the schools' first-ever men's Missouri Valley regular season championship on Feb. 26 with a win over Wichita State.  The Bears were hoping they had played their last home game back then as they were looking to win the Valley post-season tournament and head to the Big Dance -- the NCAA Tournament.  A...

SPRINGFIELD, Mo.  -- Kyle Weems was glowing on Wednesday when he met up with his friends at The Courts in Springfield for some summer league basketball. Earlier Wednesday, Weems signed his first pro contract with the Telekom Bonn basketball team in Germany.  Weems says the team is in the first division of Germany's basketball league and is a solid squad.  Bonn is the 19th largest city in Germany. Weems just completed summer league in the NBA.  The second leading scorer all time in Missouri State University history said he learned a lot at the summer league, but chose playing overseas over joining the NBA's Developmental League.  Weems said it was a tough environment and he didn't shoot as well as he'd like.

PORTSMOUTH, Va.  -- Missouri State senior Kyle Weems is one of a handful of college basketball seniors selected to play in this week's annual Portsmouth Invitational Tournament, the premier showcase event for pro hopefuls. Every year since 1953, the PIT has invited 64 of the best college seniors from around the nation to participate in a four-day, 12-game tournament in front of every NBA team.  The players are divided into eight teams, each including eight NBA hopefuls.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Missouri State senior Kyle Weems (F, Topeka, Kan.) has been named to the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) All-District 16 first-team for the second year in a row, the organization announced Wednesday (March 14). Weems is one of 240 All-District players from 24 districts who are now eligible for the NABC Coaches' Division I All-America teams, announced on March 20. Joining Weems on the District 16 first team are Creighton's Doug McDermott, Wichita State's Garrett Stutz, Evansville's Colt Ryan and Illinois State's Jackie Carmichael.

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. - Although the opportunity to play in the postseason for a third straight season was a possibility for the Missouri State University men's basketball program, Director of Athletics Kyle Moats announced Monday (March 5), the Bears will not participate in the College Basketball Invitational or CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament. “Our coaches can immediately begin working with our returning players, focusing on recruiting and concentrating on our academic responsibilities,” Moats explained.

EVANSVILLE, Ind. - A desperation three-pointer by Evansville at the end of regulation forced overtime, and the Aces held on to win the Missouri Valley Conference regular-season finale over Missouri State (16-15, 9-9), 75-70, here Saturday in MSU's first trip to the new Ford Center. The Bears got 20 points from Jarmar Gulley , 17 from Anthony Downing and 13 from Kyle Weems in a valiant effort. MSU out-rebounded Evansville by a 50-31 margin, but committed an uncharacteristic 24 turnovers and missed 11 free throws that proved to be the difference down the stretch.

BOSTON, Mass. - Missouri State senior Kyle Weems has been named as a finalist for the Mid-Major National Player of the Year. Weems and 24 finalists for the Lou Henson Award were announced late Friday (Feb. 17) by POINT 3 Basketball and CollegeInsider.com. A native of Topeka, Kan., Weems was a 2011 Associated Press All-American for the Bears and earned the MVC Larry Bird Player of the Year Award. He was also the MVC Preseason Player of the Year in 2011-12 and is averaging 15.8 points and 7.1 rebounds per game with 54 three-pointers and an 80-percent free throw clip.

ST. LOUIS, Mo. - For the fourth time this season, Missouri State junior guard Anthony Downing (Atchison, Kan.), a transfer from Independence (Kan.) Community College, has been named Missouri Valley Conference Newcomer of the Week, the league announced Monday (Feb. 20). Downing averaged a team-high 15.0 points per game over the last two games while firing at an impressive 13-for-25 clip from the perimeter. He was 3-for-3 from three-point distance against No. 24 Wichita State on Feb. 15, helping establish himself as one of the league's top-scoring juniors.

WICHITA, Kan. - No. 24 Wichita State (23-4, 14-2) used 11 three-pointers and a double-double from Garrett Stutz to turn back visiting Missouri State (16-12, 9-7) here Wednesday in Missouri Valley Conference play. Stutz scored 21 points and had 10 rebounds to lift the Shockers to a fifth straight win and clinch a share of the MVC regular-season title. MSU got 17 points from Anthony Downing, 14 from Caleb Patterson and 10 by Kyle Weems. The Bears allowed the Shockers just two offensive rebounds and committed just six turnovers to keep things close for most of the contest.

CARBONDALE, Ill. - Missouri State (15-11, 8-6) picked up its eighth road victory of the season here Wednesday with a 56-54 win at Southern Illinois (8-17, 5-9), holding off a late surge by the Salukis to win for the second straight win at SIU Arena. The Bears got 18 points from Caleb Patterson and 14 from Kyle Weems while firing at a 51.2 percent clip to overcome a 17-turnover night and improve to 8-6 in the league. The Bears took a 56-52 lead on a tip-in by Weems with 43.6 seconds left.

DES MOINES, Iowa - Missouri State (14-11, 7-6) got 17 points from Kyle Weems and 12 from Anthony Downing to pick up a 57-39 road win over Drake here Saturday in Missouri Valley Conference play. It was the Bears' seventh road win of the season as they remained tied with Illinois State for third place in the MVC standings. MSU shot 44.7 percent from the field and out-rebounded the Bulldogs by a 36-27 margin to secure the season sweep. Drake (13-11, 6-7)