Dec. 9, 2011

Missouri State Bears (4-3) at UALR Trojans (3-6)
Dec. 10, 2011, 4:30 p.m. (Central)

Jack Stephens Center (5,600), Little Rock, Ark. I Game Notes (PDF) I Tickets

GAME INFORMATION:

Series: MSU leads 5-0 (1-0 in Little Rock)
Television: KY3 (Ned Reynolds and Kelby Stuckey)

Radio: KTXR (101.3 FM) and MSU Bears Radio Network (LISTEN LIVE)
Live Stats: Live Stats (UALRTrojans.com)
I MSU Game Notes I MVC Notes

THE GAME:

Looking to snap a three-game skid, the Missouri State Bears (4-3) head to Little Rock on Saturday for a 4:30 p.m. start against the UALR Trojans (3-6) out of the Sun Belt Conference.
The Bears head into the weekend looking to regroup after letting a 12-point second-half lead slip away against Oklahoma State on Wednesday at JQH Arena. The Bears held on to a small lead throughout most of the second half after OSU mounted a 17-5 run early in the second stanza to tie the game. It wasn't until the final 99 seconds that Oklahoma State recaptured the advantage for good by knocking down 7-of-10 free throws down the stretch. Neither team scored a field goal in the final 4:49. The solid effort by Kyle Weems (Sr., F, Topeka, Kan.) was wasted after he notched 24 points, 12 rebounds and three treys in the defeat, while Jarmar Gulley (Jr., G/F, Beumont, Texas) scored a career-high 19 points on a 7-of-9 effort from the field.
UALR, which has never defeated Missouri State in five previous meetings, snapped a five-game losing streak on Tuesday with a 102-59 victory over Philander Smith. The Trojans shot 62.1 percent (41-for-66) from the field in that game with six players scoring in double figures. Eric Lawton (Jr., G, Moreno, Valley, Calif.) had 15 points for UALR in the effort, while Taggart Lockhart (Fr., F, Talihina, Okla.) logged 13 points, 7 rebounds and 3 assists. The Trojans are 3-2 at home this season.

COACH Paul Lusk:

Paul Lusk (Southern Illinois, 1995) is 4-3 in his first season at Missouri State and 6-26 in two years overall. He is 2-1 at JQH Arena, 2-2 in road games and will meet UALR for the first time as a head coach.
Lusk took the reigns as MSU's 17th head coach on April 1, 2011. Lusk came to Springfield after seven seasons at Purdue (2004-11), including the last three as associate head coach for the Boilermakers. Now in his 14th season in the coaching profession, Lusk has previous assistant coaching stops at Southwestern Illinois (1996-97), Missouri Southern (1999-2002) and Southern Illinois (2003-04) in addition to a one-year head coaching stint at (Div. III) Dubuque (2002-03). Lusk has coached in six of the last eight NCAA Tournaments.

THE TEN COUNT:

• The Bears have held all seven of their 2011-12 opponents under 42-percent shooting from the field, pushing the Bears to 11th in the nation in FG Percentage Defense (.360). MSU has shot a higher percentage from the field than six of its first seven foes, despite ranking 9th in the MVC in that category (.422).
• Over the last two games, Highland (Kan.) Community College product and NJCAA Division II All-American Jarmar Gulley (Jr., G/F, Beaumont, Texas) is 15-for-18 (.833) from the field while averaging 18.0 points per game during that span. Gulley ranks third in the MVC in FG Pct. (.615) and is tops on the Missouri State squad.
• Kyle Weems (Sr., F, Topeka, Kan.) is averaging 18.3 points per game over the last three contests with a pair of 20-point efforts. The reigning MVC Player of the Year scored just 8.3 points per game during the club's first three contests this season.
• Missouri State ranks 29th in NCAA all-time wins (1,553) and 15th in all-time win-loss percentage (.644) among programs with at least 25 years in Division I.
• Bears' opponents have attempted 102 free throws over the last three ball games, including a JQH Arena record 41 by Oklahoma State on Wednesday night (just one shy of the all-time MSU opponent record). Free throws opportunities have factored in all three MSU losses this season with disparaties of 16, 30 and 15, respectively, in foul-line chances over the last three contests. The 193 FT attempts by Bears' foes ranks 75th in the nation.
• The Bears are 9th in the nation this week in turnovers per game (10.5) and 24th in turnover margin (+4.8). Last season, MSU finished 7th among 336 Division I teams in fewest turnovers (10.3).
• Against Oklahoma State (12/7/11), Michael Bizoukas (Sr., G, Munster, Ind.) fouled out for just the second time in 92 college games. Kyle Weems (Sr., F, Topeka, Kan.) also has experienced recent foul trouble, collecting four personal fouls in five straight ball games.
• MVC Preseason Player of the Year Kyle Weems (Sr., F, Topeka, Kan.) has scored in double figures six straight games and has now scored 10 or more points 87 times in his 109-game career with 13 double-doubles (two this season). He matched a career high with 12 rebounds against Oklahoma State on Wednesday which pushed him from 10th to 7th on MSU's career rebounding chart (667).
• Missouri State has been out-rebounded by four straight opponents with a rebound margin of -6.3 in that span.
• Caleb Patterson (Sr., C, Ames, Okla.) leads the Missouri Valley Conference in free throw percentage (.933) with makes in 14 of his first 15 charity attempts this season. However, Patterson has failed to get to the foul line in either of the last two games.