Osei-Bonsu Shines with Double-Double Despite Bears’ Setback Against Evansville

EVANSVILLE, Ind. – Michael Osei-Bonsu marked his third double-double this season with 10 points and 12 rebounds on his birthday here Sunday, but it proved insufficient as the Bears lost to Evansville, 57-40, in MSU’s inaugural Valley away game of the season.

The Bears (7-6, 0-2) also received 12 points from Dez White, including three of the team’s five three-pointers in the game.

Evansville (4-9, 1-1) was spearheaded by Cameron Haffner’s 13 points, while Joshua Hughes contributed 11 points and 9 rebounds, and Tanner Cuff added 10 for the Aces.

The Bears were trailing by three at halftime and quickly equalized with a three-pointer by Zaxton King shortly after the break. Osei-Bonsu’s follow-up 75 seconds later countered a Haffner triple and made it a one-point game.

Evansville subsequently launched an 8-0 streak over the next two-and-a-half minutes to establish a nine-point advantage at the 16-minute mark, before an Osei-Bonsu hook shot and a three-pointer from White narrowed MSU’s deficit to four.

Just before the under-12 timeout, a double-technical ignited a 6-0 surge from the home team to push Evansville’s lead to double figures for the first time, 40-30. 

MSU managed to reduce the gap to 40-36 with 8:39 remaining after a rapid mini-run of four points at the line and a layup by King. However, the Bears only managed two field goals for the remainder of the match, while the Aces concluded the game with a 17-4 run, including three triples, making it unattainable for the Bears.

The Bears recorded a season-low shooting percentage of .259 (14-of-54) from the field and .200 (5-of-25) from beyond the arc, yet they out-rebounded the Purple Aces, 41-35, while achieving 8 steals and forcing twelve turnovers. MSU’s shooting percentage was the lowest recorded by the team since 2015.

White surpassed 500 career points in the game while becoming the first MSU player since 2016 (Jared Dixon) to achieve 6 steals in a match. King’s two triples this evening brought his tally of multiple three-pointers to 10 out of 13 games this season.

Evansville concluded the game shooting 18-of-47 (.383) overall from the field, 8-of-22 (.364) from three-point range, and 13-of-20 (.650) from the free throw line.

During the first half, Evansville capped the period with an 8-1 run, leading 23-20 at halftime. The Bears created 9 UE turnovers and secured 6 steals while restricting the Aces to 39.1 percent shooting from the field, but struggled to find their scoring rhythm offensively. Dez White accumulated a game-high 8 points in the first half, featuring two three-pointers.

The Bears will return to Great Southern Bank Arena on New Year’s Day to face Valparaiso at 7 p.m. Tickets for the Valpo game can be purchased at MissouriStateBears.com/tickets or through the Missouri State box office at Great Southern Bank Arena, (417) 836-7678, during standard box office hours. 

 

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