[box vs. CMSU]

Sheldon Pace had 11 points while Colt Blair added 10 for SBU.

WARRENSBURG, MO. … Tied at 45 with 11:42 to go in the game, Central Missouri State (18-6/8-5) went on a 17-0 run over 6:21 en route to a 72-56 win over #7 Southwest Baptist University (21-3/10-3).  After tying the game at 45, SBU did not hit a shot from the floor until the 3:41 mark.

Sheldon Pace and Jason Jemison led SBU with 11 points while both Frans Steyn and Colt Blair had 10 points.  Steyn had eight rebounds.  CMSU’s Michael Hicks led all scorers with 25 points. 

CMSU had a five-point lead at the half, and pushed their lead to eight, 45-37, with 16:42 left in the game.  SBU responded with an 8-0 run in the next five minutes.  Pace started the run and then was followed by two free throws by Steyn at the 14:28 mark to make it 45-41.  Danny Norman canned a three-pointer with 12:35 left to bring the Mules lead to one, 45-44, and then Steyn tied the game at 45 on a free throw with 11:42 remaining.  SBU was down by as many as 14 in the first half. 

CMSU’s Theo Jones swooshed a three-pointer at the 11:10 mark as he was fouled and completed a four-point play to start a 17-0 run in the next 6:21 to make the score, 62-45.  CMSU’s run ended when Pace hit two free throws with 5:21 left in the game.  It was not until the 3:41 mark that SBU finally hit a shot from the floor when Juan Lopez grabbed an offensive rebound and put off the back board for two and bring CMSU’s lead to 13, 62-49.  In the final 3:28 of the game, CMSU scored all of their points (10) from the free throw line.

Starting the game off 0-10 from the floor, Southwest Baptist trailed CMSU 8-0 in the first five minutes of the game.  SBU received their first points from Steyn at the 15:11 mark on two free throws.  It was not until their was 12:14 left in the half that SBU hit their first shot from the floor on a Colt Blair three-pointer to make it 12-5.  CMSU then went on an 8-1 to extend their lead to 14 points, 20-6.  Jason Jemison’s first three-pointer of the game cut the lead to 11, 20-9 and then a pace layup at the 9:16 mark brought the Mules lead to nine, 20-11. 

CMSU made it a 13-point lead, 27-14, with 7:06 left in the half on two free throws.  They kept the lead in the double digits until Steyn sailed in a shot with 4:15 to go in the half to bring the lead down to nine, 33-24.  Steyn then hit a free throw 1:27 later to make it 33-25.  The Mules made it a 10-point lead, 35-25, at the 2:02 mark but SBU outscored the Mules, 7-2, in the final two minutes to go into the locker room only down by five, 37-32.

Overall, SBU had their worst shooting performance of the year with a 28% showing (16-of-57).  They did, though, shoot 77% from the free throw line.  CMSU finished shooting 43% from the floor and 50% from beyond the arc.  CMSU also out rebounded SBU, 39-35. 

SBU is now just one-game ahead of Truman State and two ahead of CMSU in the MIAA standings.  The Bearcats will host NW Missouri State on Saturday in the Meyer Sports Center at 7:30 p.m. for senior night.