Missouri States most complete effort of the season came up three points short. Kirk Cousins Black Jersey . 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. Aldrick Robinson Black Jersey . It took five games, but the Celtics finally helped Stevens earn his first NBA victory. "Im going to celebrate for a whole 12 minutes, and then Im going to start watching Orlando and trying to figure them out," the first-year Celtics coach said after Boston beat the Utah Jazz, one of the leagues other winless teams, 97-87 on Wednesday night. Tyler Polumbus Black Jersey . Ryan OReilly started Los Angeles comeback from two goals down at 8:11 of the second period. Landeskog tied at 2-2 with 7:02 remaining in the period, beating Mathieu Garon on the first shot he faced after replacing Ben Scrivens.GREENBURGH, N.Y. -- Raymond Felton is determined to keep personal turmoil from affecting what was already his most trying season professionally. A day after his arrest on felony weapons charges, Felton returned to practice with the New York Knicks on Wednesday, saying that was "not a distraction" to the team. Felton spoke for less than a minute and did not take questions. He thanked family, friends and teammates for their support and insisted his thoughts were on the Knicks game Thursday night in Miami. "This is not a distraction to this team," he said. "Im focusing on finishing out this season, finishing out these games with my teammates and going down to Miami, focusing on this next game at task versus the defending champs." The Knicks are barely hanging on in the playoff race and Feltons struggles have been among their biggest problems. Slowed by nagging leg injuries early, hes averaging a career-worst 10.4 points on 40.3 per cent shooting for a team with a 21-36 record. Hes also dealing with the breakup of his marriage, and he was arrested early Tuesday after authorities said a lawyer for his wife turned into a police precinct a loaded semi-automatic handgun allegedly belonging to the point guard, claiming she no longer wanted it in their home. Felton was released on $25,000 bail, and his next court appearance is scheduled for June 2. Knicks coach Mike Woodson said he never considered not letting Felton play against the Heat. "The bottom line is Ray is a part of our team, and as his coach Im going to support him and make sure hes doing everything the right way from here on out, and to try to get him to just concentrate on basketball and practice and playing games," Woodson said. Felton was charged with criminal possession of a weapon in the third degree and criminal possession of a firearm. The firearm charge is punishable by up to four years in prison. The weapons charge is punishable by up to seven years in prison. He had turned himself into police not long after a 110-108 loss to Dallas dropped the Knicks farther back in the playoff race. His wife, Ariane Raymondo-Felton, filed for divorce last week, according to court records, and Felton acknowledged recently dealing with personal problems. He said he wouldnt comment on the case, referring any qquestions to his lawyer. DeAngelo Hall Black Jersey. "But other than that, Im here to concentrate on this team, finish this season out with the New York Knicks and see what happens, man," Felton said. "Trying to make it to the playoffs. Were 5 1/2 games out, 25 games left, so Im really focusing on that with these guys, with the team and trying to make that happen." Felton was playing well in his first stint in New York before he was traded to Denver in the middle of the 2010-11 season as part of the package for Carmelo Anthony. He had a dismal 2011-12 season for Portland, admitting he reported out of shape because he wasnt sure if, or when, the lockout might end. Yet the Knicks surprisingly re-signed him that summer, a move that paved the way for them to let Jeremy Lin leave as a free agent. Felton rebounded with a strong performance last season in helping the Knicks to their first Atlantic Division title since 1994, but neither he nor the team has been able to build on that. Felton has played better lately, and centre Tyson Chandler said he was focused at practice Wednesday. "He seemed like he was no different," Chandler said. Felton still could face punishment from the NBA, though likely not until the legal process has been completed. He is set to earn $3.8 million next season and has a player option that would pay him $4 million in 2015-16, and any attempt by the Knicks to void his contract would be met with a strong challenge from the players association. For now, Felton and the Knicks are just trying to salvage the season. "My job is to continue to coach and try to get guys to do the right thing on and off the basketball floor. I take pride in that, so when things creep in like this, its a surprise, but again weve got to get through it," Woodson said. "Again, I dont know the legal part, the severity of it. All I know is Raymond is still with us and Im on Raymonds side in terms of trying to make sure that hes doing the necessary things to play basketball and Im going to continue to do that." Notes: The Knicks plan to sign veterans Shannon Brown and Earl Clark to 10-day contracts Thursday and have them available to play against the Heat. ... 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