Missouri States most complete effort of the season came up three points short. Cleanthony Early had 22 points and 14 rebounds and No. 6 Wichita State rallied from a 19-point second-half deficit, knocking off Missouri State 72-69 in overtime on Saturday night. The Bears near-upset came just six days after an embarrassing 32-point loss to a 6-10 Loyola-Chicago team that has since lost two straight games. "I thought our guys played until the last second on the clock. We had an opportunity, and thats all you want against a team like that," Missouri State coach Paul Lusk said. "It hurts for our guys, because they played (hard). Theyre down right now, and they should be when you play that hard. "Thats the thing about Wichita State. They play hard. And we matched it. But weve got to get better." Fred VanVleet scored 12 of the Shockers last 13 points, including a game-tying free throw with 8 seconds left in regulation. He put Wichita State up for good with a short jumper with 1:25 left in overtime, and added two free throws with 8.8 seconds left in overtime to put the Shockers up 71-68. Early made a free throw with 1.4 seconds left to put the Shockers up 72-69, and stole a Missouri State inbounds pass at half court with 1.1 seconds left to seal the comeback for Wichita State (17-0, 4-0 Missouri Valley). "In those types of situations, youve just got to keep grinding out the game," Wichita State sophomore Ron Baker said. "Getting some stops is a big thing, but then youve got to go score on the offensive end. If you can do those two things, youre going to come back." VanVleet added 16 points, and Baker scored 12 of his 15 points in the second half. Austin Ruder led Missouri State (12-4, 2-2) with 17 points, including five 3-pointers. Jarmar Gulley had 15 points and 14 rebounds for the Bears, and Marcus Marshall also scored 15 points. The third-largest home crowd in Missouri State history (10,776) roared with approval as Missouri State shot 65 per cent in the first half and rolled to a 42-24 halftime lead. "We finally executed against an elite team," Ruder said. "Weve kind of given a couple games away against higher-level teams (losses to Louisville and Virginia), but I thought it was important that we battled. "Obviously we should have got the win and we were expecting to win, but were looking forward to next time." But the Bears missed their first eight shots to start the second half as the Shockers opened with a 7-0 run to get back in the game. It was a 46-35 Bears lead when Ruder hit his fourth 3-pointer of the game to spark an 8-0 run that gave Missouri State its largest lead at 54-35 with 11:48 to play. But Wichita State responded immediately, using full-court pressure to force four Missouri State turnovers in two minutes to power a 16-2 run that closed the gap to 56-51 with 7:30 to go. It was 60-55 with less than four minutes left when Ruder hit a 3-pointer as the shot clock expired to put Missouri State up eight, but Wichita State again rallied, closing within 64-63 on VanVleets layup and free throw with 47.7 seconds left. VanVleet missed the second of two free throws with 8.8 seconds left and the game tied at 64, and Missouri States Dorrian Williams missed a fallaway jumper at the buzzer that would have won it for the home team. "Its the first close game weve had, to be honest," Wichita State coach Gregg Marshall said. "Weve had some games where we made some plays down the stretch to win by five or whatever ... but as far as a game really being in doubt, this is by far the toughest game weve had." Missouri State couldnt have asked for much more out of the first half. The Bears shot 65 per cent from the field, including 8 of 14 from 3-point range, and Gulleys layup at the buzzer put Missouri State up 42-24 at the break. Wichita native Gavin Thurman, a little-used Missouri State reserve who hadnt played in four of the Bears past five games, sparked the first-half run with nine points on 4 for 4 shooting. "They shot the cover off the basketball, especially in the first half," Marshall said. "It didnt look good. "We knew these games would happen, and this was certainly one of them. We just made one more play." SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- Missouri States most complete effort of the season came up three points short. Fake Custom Nike Baseball Jerseys . "Yes, Id like to get them in," Detroits rookie manager said. "Mother Natures going to have a say in that." Sure enough, the Tigers had their game against the Kansas City Royals postponed because of rain on Thursday. Wholesale Custom Baseball Jerseys . - Ronda Rousey realizes shes finishing up one of the biggest years for any fighter in the young history of mixed martial arts at UFC 168, and the UFCs bantamweight champion intends to go out on top. https://www.custombaseballnikejerseys.co...es-nike-jerseys. made a diving catch in left field for the final out in a 1-0 victory over the Miami Marlins in a regular-season finale Sunday. Zimmermann (14-5) allowed only two baserunners, finishing with 10 strikeouts and one walk in the fifth no-hitter in the majors this year. Custom Nike Baseball Jerseys . PETERSBURG, Fla. Custom Cleveland Indians Nike Jerseys .com) - Minnesota Vikings fans would surely concede Teddy Bridgewater is not Peyton Manning.PORTLAND, Ore. -- Damian Lillard couldnt believe when he got a clear look at the rim. With the final buzzer about to sound, he took his shot. "I got my feet squared up and it felt real good leaving my hands," Portlands point guard said. "Once I saw it on line, I said, Thats got a chance." Lillards shot fell and the Trail Blazers stunned the Houston Rockets 99-98 to take their playoff series in six games and advance to the Western Conference semifinals for the first time in 14 years. In the frenzied postgame celebration, Lillard took the public address microphone and shouted "Rip City!" The hometown crowd roared. Portland, making its first playoff appearance since 2011, had been eliminated in the first round in its last six trips, and hadnt advanced to the second round since 2000. "Its a great feeling," said fellow guard Wesley Matthews. "Im excited for Portland, of course excited for us. The grind of the season: Youre a competitor, you want to win, you want to play, you want to advance, you want to be a champion. ... Its unbelievable." Dwight Howard made four consecutive free throws to tie the game at 91 before making a bank shot that put Houston ahead with 3:04 to go. Robin Lopez scored on a tip shot to give the Blazers a 94-93 lead with 2:15 left, setting up a wild finish. Howards layup and foul shot put the Rockets back up 96-94 before Nicolas Batums fadeaway jumper tied it again with 39.9 seconds left. Chandler Parsons scored on a reverse layup with 0.9 seconds left to give Houston the lead. Lillard prevented the series from going back to Houston with his 3-pointer as time ran out. He finished with 25 points. The Trail Blazers said Lillard is the first player to make a buzzer-beating shot to win a playoff series since John Stocktons 3 that led Utah over Houston in 1997s Western Conference finals, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. "He made a hell of a shot," Rockets coach Kevin McHale said of Lillard. Portland will face the winner of the series between San Antonio and Dallas. The Mavericks forced a deciding Game 7 with a 113-111 victory over the Spurs on Friday night. There are five first-round playoff series that have gone to seven games.dddddddddddd LaMarcus Aldridge led the Blazers with 30 points and 13 rebounds. He averaged 29.8 points during the series. After losing the opening two games in Houston, then claiming one of a pair in Portland, the Rockets staved off elimination with a 108-98 victory on Wednesday night to narrow Portlands advantage in the series to 3-2. Howard had 22 points and 14 rebounds, and Jeremy Lin redeemed himself from a poor performance in Game 4 with 21 points off the bench. James Harden led the Rockets on Friday night with 34 points. Howard had 26 points and 11 rebounds as Houston -- which earned the nickname "Clutch City" back in the mid-1990s when the team won back-to-back NBA championships -- failed to become the ninth team to come back from a 3-1 deficit in a best-of-seven playoff series and advance. "It hurts," Howard said. "When you put everything youve got on the floor and somebody hits you with a dagger like that, its a tough pill to swallow." After Lillards 3, Howard went over to congratulate his friend and told him he was proud of him and to go win the title. Aldridge helped the Blazers steal the first two games in Houston, scoring 46 points in a 122-120 overtime Game 1 win, then 43 in a 112-105 victory. The Rockets claimed the first of two in Portland, 121-116 in overtime, led by Harden with 37 points. The series third OT game ended in a 123-120 Blazers win. Aldridge gave the Rockets credit for making the Blazers better. "We felt like they definitely helped us grow. Were so young in the playoffs, but they definitely helped us grow and we feel we should be better for the next round," Aldridge said. "Were happy now, but were not satisfied." NOTES: The Blazers honoured former coach Jack Ramsay, who led the team to its lone NBA championship in 1977, in a moving pregame ceremony. Ramsay died Monday after a long battle with cancer in Florida. ... A fan at the game held a sign reading: "Play like its 1977." ... Lillard has multiple 3-pointers in six straight playoff games, a franchise record. ... It was the first time that the Blazers had defeated Houston in the post-season after three previous meetings. ' ' '