SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- — Michael Osei-Bonsu's 16 points helped Missouri State defeat Evansville 71-54 on Wednesday night.

Osei-Bonsu also had seven rebounds for the Bears (9-17, 2-13 Missouri Valley Conference). Vincent Brady II shot 5 for 9 (2 for 5 from 3-point range) and 3 of 4 from the free-throw line to add 15 points. Dez White had 10 points and went 4 of 9 from the field (2 for 4 from 3-point range).

The Purple Aces (9-17, 6-9) were led in scoring by Tayshawn Comer, who finished with 17 points. Connor Turnbull added 13 points for Evansville. Gabriel Pozzato also had 12 points and three steals.

Missouri State took the lead with 16:30 left in the first half and did not give it up. The score was 36-26 at halftime, with Wesley Oba racking up seven points. Missouri State outscored Evansville by seven points over the final half, while Osei-Bonsu led the way with a team-high 10 second-half points.

------

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