The Missouri State men’s golf team wrapped up a fifth-place finish Tuesday afternoon at the UALR/First Tee Collegiate at the par-72, 7,221-yard Chenal Country Club in Little Rock, Ark. Sophomore Jay McBride led the way for MSU, firing a final-round 73 to finish tied for eighth overall.

Missouri State entered Tuesday’s final round tied for sixth place, but shot 303 as a team to finish four strokes ahead of sixth-place Louisiana Monroe. The Bears carded 311-300-303--914 to conclude the tournament 21 shots behind Sam Houston State, which bested the 15-team field for the title, edging second-place Central Arkansas by six strokes. UCA was led by medalist Gideon Pienaar, who edged teammate Steven Lecuyer by three shots after posting a final-round 71.

UMKC (911) and UALR (912) finished third and fourth, respectively, while Oral Roberts (922), Louisiana Tech (925), Arkansas State (927), Northern Illinois (933) and Stephen F. Austin State (933) rounded out the top 10.

After shooting an opening-round 79 Monday, McBride posted back-to-back rounds of 73 to finish the meet nine strokes over par (225), matching ULM’s Nathan McMullen and Arkansas State’s Lloyd du Preez for eighth overall.

MSU senior Damaso Garcia also turned in a final-round 73 to come home one shot behind McBride in 11th place, while senior John Cronly recorded the Bears’ third top-20 finish by carding 75-77-77--229, good for 19th overall. Following a strong second-round (74) performance, freshman Jack Courington shot an 81 in the final round to tie for 38th.

Next up, Missouri State will host the Branson Creek Invitational, Monday, March 31 and Tuesday, April 1, at Branson Creek Golf Club in Hollister, Mo.