Illinois State men hold on for 67-66 win over Missouri State

Illinois State edged Missouri State 67-66 on Wednesday night and remained tied for first in the Missouri Valley Conference.

Deontae Hawkins scored 19 points for the Redbirds (22-5, 14-1), who are tied with Wichita State for the MVC lead. Wichita State beat Southern Illinois 87-68 on Wednesday in Carbondale, Ill.

Missouri State led by four points at halftime and increased its lead to 45-37 early in the second half. But a dunk and a three-pointer by MiKyle McIntosh and a three by Hawkins helped put the Redbirds on top 47-45 with 11:38 to go.

The score was tied at 60-60 with 5:07 remaining before Hawkins hit a jumper and a layup ast the Redbirds took a 67-62 lead with 1:46 left.

Dequon Miller missed a three-pointer with 2 seconds left in the game that would have given Missouri State (15-13, 6-9 MVC) the lead.

Alize Johnson scored 17 points, and Jarrid Rhodes added 16 for the Bears, who have lost four straight.

This story was originally published February 15, 2017 at 10:43 PM with the headline "Illinois State men hold on for 67-66 win over Missouri State."