Jermanine Mallet's Thunderous Dunk (watch here)
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- Adam Leonard's 14 points paced Missouri State to a 73-62 home win over Auburn here Monday night in the season opener for the Bears. The junior transfer from Eastern Kentucky was 4-for-7 from three-point range and also added five rebounds and five assists.
After leading 36-31 at the half, the Bears stormed out of the gate in the second period with a 12-5 run. A dunk by Caleb Patterson at the 13:41 mark gave the Bears a 48-36 advantage and electrified the home crowd of 7,213 at JQH Arena.
Lucas Hargrove, who had a game-high 24 points, kept the Tigers in the game in the second half. His three-pointer with 10:29 to play cut his team's deficit to 51-43, before a free throw by Ty Armstrong a few seconds later made it a seven-point game.
However, the Bears stormed back behind Isaiah Rhine's second dunk of the night and a key three-pointer by Leonard at the 8:41 mark that extended MSU's lead to double-figures again, 56-44. Auburn would get no closer than 10 the rest of the way, and Leonard would add a pair of three-pointers in the final six minutes to seal the win.
Jermaine Mallet, whose highlight-reel dunk tied the game in the first four minutes, scored 12 points and had game-highs with eight rebounds and six assists. Kyle Weems added 13 for the Bears to go with seven rebounds.
Auburn (1-1) was helped by DeWayne Reed's 12 points. The Tigers shot 40.7-percent from the field (22-for-54) and were just 7-for-16 at the free throw line in the second half. AU also committed 25 turnovers.
Missouri State snapped a three-game losing streak that dated back to last season and won their home opener for the 27th time in 28 years as a Division I program.
In the first half, Missouri State has overcome an 18-11 deficit to lead Auburn, 36-31, at the intermission. Hargrove's three with 9:12 to play in the opening stanza gave the Tigers their biggest lead of the contest.
However, Missouri State stormed back with a 21-6 run over the next five minutes to turn the tides. Reserves Rhine, Cardell McFarland and Ryan Jehle led the charge to pull MSU within six, 22-16, at the 7:17 mark. Then a three-pointer by Leonard and a dunk by Rhine started a 10-0 run for the Bears that included a trey by Kyle Weems at the 5:30 mark to give MSU a 26-22 advantage.
Missouri State continues a five-game home stand Friday with an 8:05 p.m. game against Maryland-Eastern Shore in the opening round of the Hispanic College Fund Challenge. The Bears will also entertain The Citadel on Saturday at 8:05 p.m. and Eastern Michigan on Sunday (8:05 p.m.) in the four-team event.