Kyle Weems

 After dropping two straight games to Tulsa and nationally-ranked Tennessee, the Missouri St. Bears got back on the winning track, improving to 3-2 with a 80-60 win over Pepperdine in the consolation round of the NIT. The Bears are hosting three other teams in the NIT consolation series at JQH Arena.  In the other Monday night game, Pacific beat Arkansas St. 77-70.  On Tuesday Arkansas St. will play Pepperdine at 4:30 p.m. with the Bears and Pacific at 7:05 p.m. That game is a rematch of last year's championship of the College insider.

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. - The final month of the regular season begins tonight for the Missouri State Bears when they entertain arch rival Wichita State at JQH Arena. The Bears have won four of their last five at home against WSU and are 30-27 all-time against the Shockers. In the series, MSU is 20-6 in Springfield and 3-1 at JQH Arena. The Bears are coming off an impressive 63-51 home win over Northern Iowa on Saturday before the sixth-largest crowd in MSU history.  Kyle Weems (Sr., F, Topeka, Kan.)

ST. LOUIS, Mo. -- Missouri State University was either behind or tied with Southern Illinois University for more than 59 minutes on Friday.  Then the Bears' Kyle Weems, the Missouri Valley Conference player of the year, hit a driving, contested short-range jumper that spun around the rim and fell through with 1.4 seconds remaining.  MSU advanced to the semifinals of the conference men's basketball tournament with a 58-56 victory. Box score MSU (24-7 overall, 15-3 MVC)

In a year in which six of their team's 11 losses have come by four points or less, Missouri St. Bear fans were probably not surprised by the way the MVC tournament quarterfinal ended against Wichita State. But that didn't lessen the disappointment of the 7th seeded Bruins 73-63 loss to the tourney's number 2 seed that was much closer than the final score. Neither team led by more than six points until the final minute, and both teams displayed hard-nosed defenses and tough, physical play.

STILLWATER, Okla. –A 15-6 run by Oklahoma State midway through the second half and solid bench contributions by the Cowboys sealed the fate of Missouri State in an 84-70 loss by the Bears here Saturday in non-conference play. Kyle Weems led MSU (6-3) with 20 points, while Nafis Ricks scored 16 with a game-high six assists. Will Creekmore and Jermaine Mallett added 11 points apiece for Missouri State, which shot 45.3 percent from the field. The Bears went into the locker room trailing 35-30 at the half and stormed back within three on the first basket of the second half – a two-handed dunk by Weems.

The battle of first place teams in the Valley is all set.  But Missouri St. needed a strong second half against Evansville to remain unbeaten in league play on Friday night, setting up a Sunday night showdown on ESPNU against Wichita State, who's also perfect in conference play at 3-0. The Bruins got off to a sloppy start against Evansville at JQH Arena, as some sloppy passes resulted in turnovers and helped the Aces jump out to a 14-9 lead....

TULSA, Okla. – After falling behind by as many as 15 points in the second half, Missouri State battled back within three of homestanding Tulsa, only to fall 62-50 here Friday before 5,268 fans at the Reynolds Center. Missouri State was led by Jermaine Mallett with 12 points and seven rebounds, while Adam Leonard scored 11, and Tulsa native Will Creekmore contributed 10 for MSU (2-2). The Bears shot just 28.3 percent from the field in the game, but nearly erased a double-figure deficit late.

Five Missouri State players scored in double figures, and the Bears forced 24 turnovers to defeat Upper Iowa, 73-46, in the exhibition opener for both squads Sunday afternoon at JQH Arena. Jermaine Mallett and newcomer Nathan Scheer each scored a game-high 12 points to lead Missouri State. Will Creekmore added 11, and Kyle Weems joined Caleb Patterson with 10 points apiece. The Bears earned the win with a 25-4 run to end the first half. The visiting Peacocks kept things close until the 7:06 mark of the first half when a traditional three-point play by Patterson broke an 18-18 tie. Aaron Cooper and Mallett each knocked down three-pointers in the final six minutes of the opening half, and the Bears took a 43-22 lead into the intermission.

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. - The Missouri State Bears wrap a two-game conference road swing on Wednesday when Coach Paul Lusk returns to his alma mater to take on the Southern Illinois Salukis in another key Missouri Valley Conference battle. MSU is coming off its seventh road win of the season on Saturday at Drake.  The Bears forced 14 turnovers and held the Bulldogs to just 27.3 percent shooting in a decisive 57-39 victory. Kyle Weems (Sr., F, Topeka, Kan.) had a game-high 17 points and 7 rebounds with 3 three-pointers, while Anthony Downing (Jr., G, Atchison, Kan.)

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. - Missouri State (16-14, 9-8) shot a season-low 31.3 percent from the field and never led here Wednesday in a 59-46 Missouri Valley Conference setback to visiting Indiana State. The Sycamores (17-12, 8-9) spoiled MSU's chance to lock up the No. 3 seed for next week's State Farm MVC Tournament in St. Louis and handed the Bears just their third senior-night defeat since they moved to Division I in 1982-83. Dwayne Lathan led three ISU players in double figures with 12 points.