Missouri State defeats Florida International 79-71
AP
Jan 10, 2026
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (AP) Keith Palek III scored 22 points as Missouri State Bears beat Florida International Panthers 79-71 on Saturday.
Palek added five assists for the Bears (10-6, 4-1 Conference USA). Kobi Williams scored 14 points and added five rebounds. Zaxton King had 14 points and shot 3 of 5 from the field, including 2 for 4 from 3-point range, and went 6 for 8 from the line.
Julian Mackey led the Panthers (9-7, 2-3) in scoring, finishing with 18 points and two steals. Corey Stephenson added 12 points for Florida International. Larry Olayinka had 11 points, two steals and two blocks. Ashton Williamson also scored 11 points.
Missouri State turned a five-point second-half lead into a 14-point advantage with a 9-0 run to make it a 44-30 lead with 18:15 left. Palek scored 12 second-half points in the win.
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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
Copyright 2026 STATS LLC and Associated Press. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of STATS LLC and Associated Press is strictly prohibited.
1st Half
FIU
Panthers
30
MOSU
Bears
35
Time
Team
Play
Score
20:00
(Bears gains possession)
19:41
Kobi Williams misses three point jump shot
19:39
Ashton Williamson defensive rebound
19:18
Hamed Olayinka misses two point jump shot
19:16
Eric Dibami offensive rebound
19:13
+2
Eric Dibami makes two point layup
2-0
18:55
Keith Palek III misses three point jump shot
18:53
Eric Dibami defensive rebound
18:47
Corey Stephenson misses three point jump shot
18:45
Michael Osei-Bonsu defensive rebound
18:34
Michael Osei-Bonsu turnover (Eric Dibami steals)
18:04
Hamed Olayinka misses two point jump shot
18:02
Antwan Burnett defensive rebound
17:53
Trey Williams Jr. misses three point jump shot
17:51
Kobi Williams offensive rebound
17:40
Antwan Burnett turnover
17:26
Zawdie Jackson turnover (Trey Williams Jr. steals)
17:19
+2
Keith Palek III makes two point layup (Trey Williams Jr. assists)
2-2
17:09
Hamed Olayinka misses two point jump shot
17:07
Antwan Burnett defensive rebound
17:07
Antwan Burnett turnover
16:52
Antwan Burnett shooting foul
16:52
+1
Hamed Olayinka makes regular free throw 1 of 2
3-2
16:52
+1
Hamed Olayinka makes regular free throw 2 of 2
4-2
16:44
Trey Williams Jr. turnover (Hamed Olayinka steals)
16:40
+2
Hamed Olayinka makes two point dunk (Ashton Williamson assists)
6-2
16:23
Kobi Williams misses three point jump shot
16:21
Michael Osei-Bonsu offensive rebound
16:20
Eric Dibami personal foul
16:12
+3
Trey Williams Jr. makes three point jump shot (Michael Osei-Bonsu assists)
6-5
15:57
Ashton Williamson misses three point jump shot
15:55
Keith Palek III defensive rebound
15:44
+3
Kobi Williams makes three point jump shot (Antwan Burnett assists)
6-8
15:32
Hamed Olayinka turnover (Antwan Burnett steals)
15:16
Michael Osei-Bonsu misses two point layup
15:14
Ashton Williamson defensive rebound
14:59
Hamed Olayinka turnover (Kobi Williams steals)
14:54
Trey Williams Jr. misses three point jump shot
14:52
Panthers defensive rebound
14:52
TV timeout
14:39
Brit Harris turnover
14:20
Kobi Williams misses three point jump shot
14:18
Eric Dibami defensive rebound
14:07
Ashton Williamson misses two point layup
14:05
Eric Dibami offensive rebound
14:03
Brit Harris misses three point jump shot
14:01
Antwan Burnett defensive rebound
13:49
+3
Zaxton King makes three point jump shot (Cameron Boone assists)
6-11
13:39
Antwan Burnett blocks Eric Dibami's two point jump shot
13:37
Panthers offensive rebound
13:31
Brit Harris misses three point jump shot
13:29
Darrion Sutton defensive rebound
13:03
+2
Michael Osei-Bonsu makes two point layup (Zaxton King assists)
6-13
12:41
Julian Mackey misses three point jump shot
12:39
Eric Dibami offensive rebound
12:37
Michael Osei-Bonsu blocks Eric Dibami's two point layup
12:35
Zaxton King defensive rebound
12:26
+2
Michael Osei-Bonsu makes two point layup (Zaxton King assists)
6-15
12:03
Ibrahim Olajuwon misses two point jump shot
12:01
Darrion Sutton defensive rebound
11:47
+2
Darrion Sutton makes two point layup (Michael Osei-Bonsu assists)
6-17
11:35
Darrion Sutton shooting foul
11:35
TV timeout
11:35
+1
Ibrahim Olajuwon makes regular free throw 1 of 2
7-17
11:35
Ibrahim Olajuwon misses regular free throw 2 of 2
11:35
Melakih Cunningham defensive rebound
11:05
Trey Williams Jr. misses three point jump shot
11:03
Melakih Cunningham offensive rebound
11:03
+2
Melakih Cunningham makes two point layup
7-19
10:30
+2
Julian Mackey makes two point layup (Corey Stephenson assists)
9-19
10:16
Michael Osei-Bonsu turnover (Thiago Sucatzky steals)
10:11
+2
Zawdie Jackson makes two point layup (Thiago Sucatzky assists)
11-19
9:45
Antwan Burnett misses three point jump shot
9:43
Thiago Sucatzky defensive rebound
9:35
Hamed Olayinka misses three point jump shot
9:33
Michael Osei-Bonsu defensive rebound
9:26
Antwan Burnett turnover (Julian Mackey steals)
9:18
+2
Corey Stephenson makes two point layup (Julian Mackey assists)
13-19
9:18
Kobi Williams misses three point jump shot
8:51
Antwan Burnett personal foul
8:37
Corey Stephenson misses three point jump shot
8:35
Julian Mackey offensive rebound
8:30
Corey Stephenson misses two point jump shot
8:28
Zaxton King defensive rebound
8:15
+3
Kobi Williams makes three point jump shot (Keith Palek III assists)
13-22
7:47
+2
Thiago Sucatzky makes two point jump shot
15-22
7:34
Thiago Sucatzky shooting foul
7:34
TV timeout
7:34
+1
Keith Palek III makes regular free throw 1 of 2
15-23
7:34
+1
Keith Palek III makes regular free throw 2 of 2
15-24
7:29
+2
Ashton Williamson makes two point layup (Zawdie Jackson assists)
17-24
7:15
Hamed Olayinka blocks Michael Osei-Bonsu's two point jump shot
7:13
Corey Stephenson defensive rebound
6:58
Hamed Olayinka misses two point layup
6:56
Kobi Williams defensive rebound
6:41
Keith Palek III turnover
6:23
Corey Stephenson misses two point jump shot
6:21
Panthers offensive rebound
6:08
+2
Eric Dibami makes two point dunk (Hamed Olayinka assists)
19-24
5:54
+3
Logan Epes makes three point jump shot (Keith Palek III assists)
19-27
5:30
Ashton Williamson misses three point jump shot
5:28
Bears defensive rebound
5:02
+3
Keith Palek III makes three point jump shot (Logan Epes assists)
19-30
4:42
Corey Stephenson misses three point jump shot
4:40
Hamed Olayinka offensive rebound
4:38
+2
Hamed Olayinka makes two point layup
21-30
4:25
Trey Williams Jr. misses three point jump shot
4:23
Kobi Williams offensive rebound
4:14
Keith Palek III turnover (Zawdie Jackson steals)
4:05
+2
Ashton Williamson makes two point layup (Zawdie Jackson assists)
23-30
3:51
Logan Epes misses three point jump shot
3:49
Panthers defensive rebound
3:48
TV timeout
3:22
Zawdie Jackson misses two point layup
3:20
Keith Palek III defensive rebound
3:13
Ashton Williamson shooting foul
3:13
+1
Zaxton King makes regular free throw 1 of 2
23-31
3:13
+1
Zaxton King makes regular free throw 2 of 2
23-32
3:08
Logan Epes shooting foul
3:08
+1
Julian Mackey makes regular free throw 1 of 2
24-32
3:08
Julian Mackey misses regular free throw 2 of 2
3:08
Hamed Olayinka offensive rebound
3:00
Michael Osei-Bonsu shooting foul
3:00
Zawdie Jackson misses regular free throw 1 of 2
3:00
Zawdie Jackson misses regular free throw 2 of 2
3:00
Michael Osei-Bonsu defensive rebound
2:44
Michael Osei-Bonsu turnover (Brit Harris steals)
2:40
+2
Julian Mackey makes two point layup (Brit Harris assists)
26-32
2:40
Kobi Williams shooting foul
2:40
+1
Julian Mackey makes regular free throw 1 of 1
27-32
2:23
Michael Osei-Bonsu turnover (Hamed Olayinka steals)
