March 17, 2006
Springfield, Mo. (AP) - Blake Ahearn and Deke Thompson scored 19 points each to lead Missouri State to a 76-67 win over Stanford on Friday night in the first round of the National Invitation Tournament.
Stanford (16-14) took its first lead at 55-53 on two free throws by Peter Prowitt with 10:01 left and extended the advantage to four points less than 2 minutes later. Missouri State (21-8) blew a 21-point lead in the first half, but used a 13-4 run to lead 66-61 with 2:40 remaining.
The Bears closed out the game with eight straight free throws to keep Stanford at bay. They will face Houston in a second-round game on Monday night.
Missouri State, which fell behind after going more than 8 minutes without a field goal in the second half, made 21 of 50 shots (42 percent) compared to Stanford's 18 of 46 (39 percent).
Matt Haryasz had 15 for Stanford. Lawrence Hill added 13, and Prowitt and Chris Hernandez had 11 each.