Evansville pulls away late to beat Missouri State 70-64
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (AP) — K.J. Riley scored 16 points and Evan Kuhlman hit a key 3-pointer late to help Evansville beat Missouri State 70-64 on Wednesday night.
Evansville (9-9, 3-2 Missouri Valley Conference) has won eight of the last 10 against Missouri State (8-10, 2-3).
John Hall made a 3-pointer and Dainius Chatkevicius two free throws, and Devan Straub's 3 capped an 8-0 surge to give the Purple Aces a 60-56 lead with 3:32 remaining. Jarred Dixon hit a jumper to pull the Bears to 60-58 before Kuhlman answered with another 3-pointer to make it 63-58 lead with 1:08 left.
Riley made 3 of 4 free throws and Shamar Givance added four more from the line to seal it.
Riley was 5-of-10 shooting and grabbed eight rebounds. Hall added 11 points and Shea Feehan had 10. Kuhlman finished with five points.
Tulio Da Silva and Keandre Cook each scored 14 points to lead Missouri State. Da Silva grabbed 13 rebounds for his second straight double-double.