Missouri State basketball beats first ranked team since 2011 with win at No. 22 Loyola
The Bears have made themselves a championship contender in the Missouri Valley Conference.
Missouri State (15-6, 6-2) earned its first win over a ranked opponent since 2011 with a 79-69 victory over No. 22 Loyola Chicago (14-3, 5-1) on Saturday afternoon in Chicago.
"I think we played a complete game," Bears head coach Dana Ford said during his postgame radio interview. "We knew it would take that in order to beat a team of this caliber."
Star junior guard Isiaih Mosley continued his recent streak of dominance by scoring 40 points in the victory. He has scored 24 or more points in the Bears' last five games and is averaging 34.4 points over the stretch.
The win snaps a 22-game losing streak against ranked opponents and it's Ford's first as the Bears' head coach. The Bears hadn't beaten a ranked opponent since Dec. 28, 2011, in Paul Lusk's first season and his first game against a ranked opponent with a 77-65 road win at No. 21 Creighton.
More: Missouri State establishes itself as MVC contender with signature win over No. 22 Loyola Chicago
Loyola, which went to the Sweet 16 a year ago, was on a 10-game winning streak entering the afternoon. The Ramblers had won 23-straight MVC contests at home with MSU being the last Valley team to win at Gentile Arena on Feb. 17, 2019.
Mosley made his presence known in the first half by scoring 16 of the Bears' 35 points. He was 6-of-11 from the field with four rebounds. Loyola had a balanced scoring attack led by Braden Norris' nine points with all of his points coming from behind the arc. Eight different Ramblers got on the scoreboard.
Donovan Clay dunked in his ninth point of the half with 15 seconds left to put the Bears up 35-33 going into the break.
Mosley's dominance only sped up in the second half as he went 8-of-11 in the final 20 minutes with 24 points. Clay added seven and ended the game with 16 points.
"We always know (Mosley) is capable of this," Ford said. "When he's dialed in, it's just whether or not he makes or misses it. We're fortunate to have him. Just very fortunate."
Missouri State led by as many as 20 with 6:43 left in the game but Loyola didn't lie down. The Ramblers went on an 8-0 run over a 29-second span to bring it back within 10 with 3:46 left.
Loyola came within six points with 37 seconds left but Missouri State got it done from the free-throw line. The Bears' last 13 points came from the charity stripe as they put the game away.
The Ramblers entered the game with one of the best shooting teams in the country while making 50.2 percent of their shots. The Bears held them to their second-worst shooting night of the season at 40.3 percent from the field.
Senior center Gaige Prim also added 11 points and 10 rebounds for his second-straight double-double.
"We need to continue to play well and we need to continue to be a team that doesn't beat itself," Ford said. "Take care of the ball, make our free throws, get the ball to the right guys in certain situations and continue to improve our defense."
Missouri State will stay on the road when it travels to Indiana State for a 6 p.m. game on Tuesday. The Bears return to JQH Arena on Jan. 29 for a 7 p.m. game against Evansville.
Wyatt D. Wheeler is a reporter and columnist with the Springfield News-Leader. You can contact him at 417-371-6987, by email at wwheeler@news-leader.com or Twitter at @WyattWheeler_NL. He's also the co-host of Sports Talk on Jock Radio weekdays from 4-6 p.m.
This article originally appeared on Springfield News-Leader: Missouri State basketball: Bears upset No. 22 Loyola on the road
