SPRINGFIELD -- Missouri State men's basketball coach Cuonzo Martin announced early Saturday that sophomore guard Cardell McFarland has been dismissed from the squad due to an undisclosed violation of team conduct rules while in his hometown of Evansville, Ind., during the team's scheduled holiday break.

"We are parting ways with Cardell and wish him well," said Martin. "It is an unfortunate situation, but the best circumstance for our team is to move forward as we begin conference play and work toward our goals in the Missouri Valley Conference."

This season, McFarland played in five of the team's first 11 games, scoring 25 points with 7 rebounds and 8 assists. He missed three games with a knee contusion suffered in the Tulsa game on Nov. 28 and had been in uniform for the Bears' last three games, but did not play.  As a freshman last season, he started 19 of the 29 games in which he appeared, averaging 6.9 points and 1.6 rebounds with a career-high 15 points at Tennessee-Martin on Feb. 21, 2009.

Martin and the Bears (10-1) begin conference play on Tuesday (Dec. 29) at Evansville before returning home on Jan. 1 for a 7:05 p.m. game against Illinois State.