Missouri St. 68, Illinois St. 59

Published Feb. 13, 2011 5:25 a.m. ET

foxsports

Kyle Weems scored 21 points and Missouri State defeated Illinois State 68-59 on Saturday night to maintain a share of first place in the Missouri Valley Conference.

Weems, coming off a 27-point performance in Wednesday's 77-69 victory over Bradley, made 6 of 11 shots and pulled down six rebounds for the Bears, (20-6, 12-3), who are tied with Wichita State at 12-3 in league play. Wichita State defeated Northern Iowa 73-55 on Saturday night.

Will Creekmore scored 16 points and Nafis Ricks had 12 for Missouri State, which has won three straight and recorded its second consecutive 20-win season.

Austin Hill had a game-high 23 points for the Redbirds (11-15, 3-12), who lost their fourth straight game.

Missouri State led by as many as 12 in the second half after leading 27-25 at the half. Hill's 3-pointer with 59 seconds left pulled Illinois State within 64-57, the closest they would get down the stretch.