Men's Basketball Edged on Road at Missouri State

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- Belmont University men's basketball dropped a 61-59 decision at Missouri State Wednesday night. 

Jonathan Mogbo scored with nine seconds left with Belmont's final opportunity to tie or win the game deflected. 

In a game that featured eight ties and 13 lead changes with neither team leading by more than two possessions, Belmont got timely contributions from Derek Sabin, Michael Shanks and Keishawn Davidson as Even Brauns dealt with foul trouble. 

Two Cade Tyson baskets and a Drew Friberg 3-point field goal gave Belmont a 32-28 lead with 3:26 left in the first half. 

Missouri State closed the first half on a 7-1 run – seizing on some loose ball and scramble play opportunities - to lead 35-33 at halftime. 

Belmont shot 50 percent (13-for-26) from the field in the opening 20 minutes – including 3-for-8 from 3-point distance. 

In a low possession game, every pass, catch and shot was fiercely contested. The respective coaching staffs also made numerous chess moves seeking an advantage with lineups and defensive strategy.

Ja'Kobi Gillespie sparked a Belmont run as his two baskets and a Ben Sheppard 3-pointer gave Belmont a 44-43 lead with 12:07 left. 

Belmont found an offensive rhythm midway through the second half as scores from Sheppard, Tyson and Friberg allowed Belmont to keep pace. 

A Donovan Clay 3-pointer gave Missouri State a 55-53 lead with 6:55 remaining. 

After an exchange of scores and defensive stops, Brauns scored on a baseline inbounds play with 1:30 left to tie the score at 59. 

He had an opportunity to complete a conventional 3-point play but his free throw rimmed out. 

Tyson would then draw an offensive foul on Alston Mason to give Belmont possession with 1:04 left. 

Belmont worked the offensive possession before looking for Tyson along the baseline; Mogbo defended his baseline shot well before Brauns grabbed the offensive rebound. 

Tyson's attempt was ruled to have not hit the rim so the shot clock continued to run down as Gillespie attempted an 8-foot floater with 34 seconds left. 

The shot rimmed off and Mogbo secured the rebound for Missouri State. 

Missouri State then turned to Clay, who eluded two Belmont defenders, drove the lane and lobbed a pass to Mogbo for a dunk with under 10 seconds left. 

After a Missouri State timeout, Belmont attempted a designed play that was initially defended well and led to Belmont head coach Casey Alexander calling timeout with 1.7 seconds left. 

Following an official replay review to adjust the game clock to 2.0 seconds, Belmont freed Tyson for a potential game-winning 3-pointer. But Davidson's baseline inbounds pass was deflected by Mogbo and time expired. 

It proved to be the second consecutive Wednesday Belmont dropped a Missouri Valley Conference road game at the buzzer. 

Belmont shot 43 percent (24-for-56) from the field. 

Ben Sheppard led Belmont with 14 points and three steals. Tyson scored 12. 

Clay led Missouri State (13-12, 9-6 MVC) with 18 points. 

Belmont (17-9, 10-5 MVC) returns to game action Saturday vs. UIC. 

Belmont University men's basketball has earned postseason invitations 15 of the last 17 seasons, including nine berths to the NCAA Tournament. The Bruins have won 20 conference championships since 2006 - third-most nationally over that span (Gonzaga, Kansas). Belmont has won 20 or more games in 12 consecutive seasons (Gonzaga, Kansas, Oregon). Belmont is one of only five NCAA Division I programs outside the Power 5 to post Top 100 rankings 12 consecutive seasons (Gonzaga, Saint Mary's (CA), San Diego State, Wichita State). Belmont University men's basketball boasts an NCAA-leading 19 CoSIDA Academic All-America selections since 2001 and is the only NCAA Division I program to make the NCAA Academic Progress Rate (APR) Honor Roll every year of existence.