(8:59): Bears win 76-66. Headed to press conference. Score is misleading. This wasn’t easy. Creekmore is the star, finishing with 20 points and eight rebounds. Would you think the Bears would win a game with Weems and Leonard combining for eight points? As ugly as this one was, the Bears might have found a post wrinkle in their game. Northern Iowa is next, here at JQH at 2 p.m. Saturday. It’s the biggest game of the year, so far. See you next time.
(8:57): OK, it’s over. EU misses a contested layup and Keith Pickens gets an easy dunk – with no T. Two more FTs make it 74-63 with 26.7 left.
(8:55): Holmes makes one of two FTs. Fuehrmeyer breaks press and makes both FTs. Bears up 70-63 with 59.8 left. With Bears ballhandling and pressbreaking woes, this game isn’t over yet.
(8:52): More Creek. He gets a pass from Ricks and flushes with two hands. He pulls himself up and slaps backboard like he’s Kenyon Martin circa five years ago. EU makes two FTS and is heading back for more. Getting tense in here again. Weems fouls out with four points. Wow. Bears up 68-62 with 1:05 left.
(8:50): Text of the night comes from TagSGF reader Jacob Govero: “If I’ve said it once, I’ve said it a thousand times. Thank God for Will Creekmore.” The Creek has a game-high 18 points tonight. Bears up 66-60 with 1:22 left. Can they handle the press this time?
(8:47): Evansville misses two possessions of potential get-back-in-it material, but can’t convert. Mallett misses two FTS. Bears up 65-58 and Evansville can’t convert again. Plenty of chances can’t make Cuonzo Martin happy. 1:41 left.
(8:45): Not sure why Evansville didn’t press after Troy Taylor’s basket. Bears can’t seem to handle the ball late in games. Creekmore banks one in to take 65-58 lead with 2:45 left.
(8:44): Two free throws from James Haarsma and a steal and bucket from Denver Holmes makes it 62-56 with 4:00 left.
(8:40): Two Troy Taylor Throws take tally to 62-52 Bears with 3:56 left. Officials TO.
(8:38): Aces absolutely cannot handle Bears on the boards. Huge scrum turns into Mallett 3-point play. Bears up 62-50 with 4:40 left.
(8:37): Aces go zone, Bears go deep with Fuehrmeyer 3. Aces answer with 3 from Colt Ryan. 59-50 Bears with 5:00 left.
(8:35): As the Bears continue to toy with an opponent, I still feel like they need someone to step up and carry them through stretches. Mallett should be that guy. He has a very quiet 11 points tonight. Something is wrong with shot clock and extended a time out.
(8:33): Ricks makes two FTs, then gets transition bucket off dime from Mallett. Bears up 56-45 with 7:05 left.
(8:30): Announced attendance, 7,430. (Yeah, right)
(8:30): TV timeout, Bears up 52-45 after a Nafis Ricks FT, 7:55 left. The score feels closer than it is.
(8:28): Caleb Patterson (finally) checks in at the 8:47 mark. Bears up 51-45 after an EU FT.
(8:27): Nafis Ricks layup after an Evansville turnover stops a 5-0 Aces spurt. Bears up 51-44, 8:47 left.
(8:25): Denver Holmes tries to dunk on Weems via the baseline. He fails after a Weems fouls, but the ball bounced up and in. The FT makes the game 49-44 with 9:45 left.
(8:23): Shockingly, Adam Leonard just scored his first two points of the game. Free throws make it 49-39.
(8:22): Keith Pickens and EU’s Lewis Jones trade buckets. Weems gets a piece of a Jones layup after a steal. Nice block. Bears up 47-39 with 10:49 left.
(8:21): As for that message, is it “Play defense?” Creekmore has drawn two charges this half.
(8:19): Not sure what is going on with Creekmore. Bears are feeding him like he’s a cross between Hakeem Olajuwon and Danny Moore. He makes one of two FTs to make lead 45-35. Meanwhile, the good post scorer, Caleb Patterson, hasn’t played a minute in the second half. Wonder if he’s sending him a message…
(8:16): Two Ryan Jehle FTs extend Bears’ lead to 44-35. It’s a good thing Evansville isn’t good, because the Bears are playing the Aces game. Ugly.
(8:14): Creekmore again gets ball in paint and tries to make something happen. An ill-advised shot leads to a Ryan Jehle putback for a 42-31 Bears lead, 14:14 left. Bears on 8-0 run over last five minutes. D is tightening up, too.
(8:12): Creekmore continues to get ball in the post and make something happen. This time, a 3-point play, which makes the score 40-31 Bears with 15:00 left. Creekmore has a game-high 14 points.
(8:11): Creekmore makes both, pushing score to 37-31. His heading to the line is no accident. The Bears are, for some reason, feeding him in the post. Not aesthetically pleasing.
(8:09): Nothing visually pleasing has happened. A few walks. A few missed shots. A few “Cover your eyes” moments. Creekmore headed back to line with Bears up 35-31 with 15:48 left.
(8:04): After Evansville TO with shot clock running down, Creekmore gets rebound, but falls to ground. Call is traveling. Student section chimes in with Push It chant. My second-favorite crowd chant ever.
(8:02): After Evansville bucket, Creekmore makes one of two FTs. Bears up 35-31, 18:49 left. Strap it in.
(8:00): Bears come out of half and go into paint with Mallet. Layup makes it 34-29.
(7:56): For halftime musings, here is a video of Dirty Diana, my favorite Michael Jackson song. The JQH DJ played another Jacko song during halftime, but I like this one better.
(7:55): If you want more on the Stephanie Phillips situation, check our Twitter feed.
(7:53): More geekage. Bears shooting 37 percent (14-of-37), but outrebounding Evansville 22-16, including 13 offensive rebounds for MSU. Evansville is shooting 48 percent (12-of-25). Also, Bears are 3-of-12 from 3-point range. It’s almost like it’s hockey, where you shoot it from the point and then go try to clean up with a rebound. It’s not really working.
(7:50): Stat geekage. Bears scoring: Mallet 9, Creekmore 8, Caleb Patterson 5, Kyle Weems 4, Fuehrmeyer, Pickens and Ricks 2. Evansville, Clint Hopf 10, James Haarsma 5, Denver Holmes 5, Troy Taylor 3, Kavon Lacey 2, Monie Hudson 2, Lewis Jones 2.
(7:49): Seriously, how embarrassing would this loss be? You could stick a fork in any type of deep MVC Tourney run, right? I’m not trying to incite panic, but a sense of urgency would be nice. The crowd in here is tense.
(7:45): During a half every Bears fan is going to want to forget, the Bears pounded the offensive glass, but couldn’t seem to make any shots. Stats are forthcoming, but Jermaine Mallett’s nine points lead Missouri State, while Will Creekmore has eight.
Even seven minutes after this photo was taken, this photo hasn't filled in much. Where are you? I know, following the live blog!
(7:43): OK, sorry for the gap in coverage. For a Bears fan, this isn’t going to make you happy: Missouri State 32, Evansville 29, halftime.
(7:20): As for the game, MSU looks sluggish and gross. Evansville’s guard play is quicker, at least what I could tell on the phone with Phillips. Bears lead 13-9, 11:38 1st half.
(7:17): Sorry for the delay, but news has broken that Kickapoo HS girls’ basketball coach Stephanie Phillips is taking a leave of absence after she was told her colon cancer has worsened. “It’s time to take a break and focus on me,” she said. This is the saddest of news.
(7:02): Starters: Evansville – Hopf, Holmes, Colt, Haarsma, Lacey; MSU – Weems, Mallett, Creekmore, Leonard, Fuerhmeyer
(6:59): Getting ready to tip … Espy elementary performed the National Anthem with sign language and all
(6:51): OK, so we took this photo just seven minutes ago. Not much has changed as the crowd is sparse. As I wondered where everyone was and tried to come up with a lama analogy, it dawned on me – everyone must be at home, following along on the live blog! Thanks for your patronage!
(6:44): Alright Bears fans (and Bears haters), time to get it cracking from JQH Arena. Allen Vaughan is here and thanks for logging on and don’t worry, no Terrence Cody or Greg Oden photos tonight. (Only Google if you’re 18 and up!)
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We’ll readily admit there is nothing like going to JQH Arena and catching the Missouri State Bears in action and if you can’t make it to the game, you’ll probably listen to Art Hains and Co. and the live broadcast. But, if you’re looking for some additional commentary, possibly as a complement, check out tonight’s Live Blog.
It’s full of real-time information, offering up in-game commentary, as well as other forms of entertainment. If you’re curious of what it will be like, check out our initial MSU Live Blog, during last week’s crazy finish against Indiana State, or our trio of epic Tournament of Champions Live Blogs (Day 1,Day 2 and Day 3).
If you missed today’s Thought Notebook, be sure to check out the MSU-Evansville section.
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