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. Andrew Cashner Red Sox Jersey . Traditional contenders Brazil, Greece and Turkey drew the other three spots to complete the 24-team field for this summers tournament in Spain, basketball governing body FIBA announced Saturday at its meeting in Barcelona. Bobby Doerr Red Sox Jersey . -- Chris Crawford hit a 3-pointer with 1:36 left to put Memphis ahead to stay, and the 21st-ranked Tigers beat seventh-ranked Louisville 72-66 Saturday, sweeping the season series from the Cardinals. https://www.cheapredsox.com/2301z-heath-...ey-red-sox.html. In their first meeting for six years, the Frenchmen dropped serve twice in the first set, but Giquel broke Simon two more times in the second. Gicquel moves on to face sixth-seeded Jarkko Nieminen of Finland, who advanced with a 7-6 (5), 7-6 (5) win against wild card Pierre-Hugues Herbert, despite the Frenchmans 23 aces. Rich Gedman Red Sox Jersey . -- J.R. Sweezy was the one part of the Seattle Seahawks offensive line that had avoided injuries or having to change positions this season. Craig Kimbrel Jersey .Morse gets a $1 million signing bonus and salaries of $7 million next season and $8 million in 2016 under the agreement announced Wednesday.OAKLAND, Calif. -- Theres something about Jarrod Parkers presence on the mound that is bringing out the best in the Oakland Athletics. Especially against Yu Darvish and the Texas Rangers. Parker got plenty of home-run help to pitch his way into Oaklands record book, and the surging As pulled into a tie atop the AL West with Texas by overpowering the Rangers 11-4 on Wednesday. "Im just trying to stay in the moment," Parker said. Parker (11-6) allowed two runs in six innings to extend his unbeaten streak to 18 straight starts, eclipsing Catfish Hunters Oakland mark set from June 2-Sept. 3, 1973. Parker struck out four and walked none. The 24-year-old has won his last nine decisions, the most by an As pitcher since Dan Haren won 10 in a row in 2007. He hasnt lost since May 22 at Texas. "He goes out there and shuts teams down," right fielder Brandon Moss said. "He puts the ball in play and doesnt walk anybody. When he gets in trouble, he finds a way to dig deep and get himself out of it. Thats what aces do." Moss, Daric Barton and Coco Crisp each hit two-run homers, and Josh Donaldson added a three-run drive for Oakland. The As handed Darvish (12-7) a loss in consecutive starts for the first time all season. Darvish gave up five runs -- matching a season high -- and tied a career-worst with six walks in five-plus innings. He is 1-5 with a 4.82 ERA against Oakland. Darvish also made a pointed gesture that appeared to signal catcher A.J. Pierzynski to go back behind the plate during a mound visit by pitching coach Mike Maddux. Pierzynski downplayed the incident. "He had a command issue. I went out there to calm him down. I wasnt paying attention," Pierzynski said. As opening day starter Brett Anderson, working his way back from a stress fracture in his right foot, allowed two runs in three innings for his second save. Manager Bob Melvin said hes trying to stretch out Andersons appearances to give the team the option of inserting him back into the rotation. A year after the As completed a three-game sweep over the Rangers to win the division on the final day, the AL West race is again shaping up as a tight one. Oakland has won eight of its last 10 to set up what should be a scintillating September. The teams play three more times in Texas from Sept. 13-16. "It should be fun," Donaldson said. The Rangers, just as they did a year ago, wilted in their final regular sseason game at the Oakland Coliseum.dddddddddddd Darvish struggled with his command from the start, bouncing balls in front of the plate and piling up his pitch count. By the second, he had already matched a season high with four walks and had thrown 42 pitches. Moss sent his 26th home run of the season over the wall in right in the first, and Crisp drove in the first of his four RBIs in the second with a sacrifice fly. Leonys Martin hit an RBI double and Craig Gentry singled him home in the third to slice Oaklands lead to 3-2, but the Rangers blew their best chance to rally in the fifth. Shortstop Jed Lowrie bobbled Jim Adducis grounder and Martins sacrifice bunt moved both runners into scoring position. Jurickson Profar broke to the plate on Gentrys comebacker and was tagged out trying to get back to third. "It wasnt a good day is all," Ranger manager Ron Washington said. Bartons second home run of the season -- and first in Oakland since July 10, 2010 -- ended Darvishs day. Donaldsons 20th homer came later in the sixth against reliever Robbie Ross, and Crisps 18th in the eighth put Parker in a powerful position to make history. The only As starter with a longer unbeaten streak is Lefty Grove, who won 21 in a row from April 22-Aug. 19, 1931. The Hall of Famer also had 10 relief appearances during the streak, including one loss. Since dropping his first four decisions this season, Parker has only allowed more than three runs twice. "Hes been nails," Donaldson said. "You need a guy like Parker to come in every day and give us a chance to win, and thats what hes done for the majority of this year." NOTES: The Rangers batted out of order in the ninth but nobody reached base so the As never protested. ... Rangers SS Elvis Andrus missed his fourth straight game with a sore back. He said he couldve played, but with a day off Thursday, Washington wanted to give Andrus extra time to recover. ... Athletics C Derek Norris, who fractured his left big toe Aug. 21, said he feels "ready to go" and expects to be activated from the 15-day disabled list when eligible Thursday. ... The As send Sonny Gray (2-2, 2.57 ERA) to the mound against Brad Peacock (3-5, 5.98 ERA) in the opener of a four-game series against Houston on Thursday. Matt Garza (9-3, 3.55 ERA) goes for the Rangers on Friday at the Los Angeles Angels, who counter with C.J. Wilson (14-6, 3.35 ERA). ' ' '