Jarmar Gulley scored 18 points Tuesday night as Missouri State squandered all but two points of a 21-point lead before surging to beat Southern Illinois 77-65.
Kyle Weems hit double figures for the 16th straight game with 16 points for the Bears (11-6, 4-1), who have won four of five and are tied for the Missouri Valley lead. Caleb Patterson scored 15 and Anthony Downing 13, while Christian Kirk grabbed 10 rebounds.
Kendal Brown-Surles' 14 points paced the Salukis (5-11, 2-3). Mamadou Seck had 12 and Dantiel Daniels and Jeff Early 10 each.
The Bears led 37-16 late in the first half. The Salukis closed within 42-31 at the break, then opened the second half with an 11-2 spurt and were down 44-42.
But Patterson hit a 3-pointer, Gulley scored and Patterson converted a three-point play to give the Bears a 52-42 lead with 13:18 left.
