Mason leads Missouri St past UIC 74-57 in MVC tourney opener

ST. LOUIS -- - Alston Mason had 17 points in Missouri State's 74-57 victory against UIC on Thursday in a Missouri Valley Conference tournament first-round game.

Mason shot 6 for 12 (1 for 5 from 3-point range) and 4 of 4 from the free throw line for the Bears (16-14). Jonathan Mogbo scored 15 points while shooting 7 of 10 from the field and 1 for 5 from the line, and added eight rebounds and three blocks. Damien Mayo Jr. went 6 of 10 from the field to finish with 13 points, while adding six rebounds.

Jace Carter led the Flames (12-19) in scoring, finishing with 14 points, seven rebounds and three steals. Christian Jones added 12 points for UIC. In addition, Toby Okani finished with seven points and eight rebounds.

Missouri State took the lead with 5:13 remaining in the first half and did not relinquish it. Kendle Moore led his team in scoring with nine points in the first half to help put them up 34-30 at the break. Missouri State pulled away with a 7-0 run in the second half to extend a four-point lead to 11 points. They outscored UIC by 13 points in the final half, as Mayo led the way with a team-high 13 second-half points.

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.