The Missouri State Bears open their 105th season of basketball Friday night when
Paul Lusk's squad entertains the Alabama A&M Bulldogs at 7:05 p.m., as part of a two-game opening weekend. The Bears also host Jacksonville State on Sunday afternoon at 1:05 p.m.. The two games in 42 hours kicks off a busy home schedule in November with the Bears hosting four out of five games during the month at JQH Arena. MSU continues its home stand next Thursday (Nov. 17) against Fontbonne before playing its only road game of November at DePaul on Nov. 23.
Series Histories
 Missouri State is 1-1 all-time against Alabama A&M, including a 68-47 win over the Bulldogs at JQH Arena on Dec. 21, 2013 in the most-recent meeting between the two teams -- and the only previous meeting in Springfield. The Bears overcame 14 turnovers and a 34-percent shooting night with a career night from
Keith Pickens (15 rebounds), while
Austin Ruder scored 12 points behind four 3-pointers. AAMU defeated the Bears by a 59-47 score in Huntsville, Dec. 10, 2012 as MSU let a narrow halftime lead slip away on a cold-shooting second half. The Bulldogs out-rebounded the Bears by a 40-23 margin, while MSU committed just 3 turnovers, but shot just 38.3 percent for the game.
 The only previous meeting between the Bears and Jacksonville State took place on Dec. 13, 1980 in Hammons Student Center in the Championship Game of the Southwest Classic Tournament. Both teams were playing at the Division II level at the time, and the Gamecocks prevailed, 83-63.
Scouting Alabama A&M
Sixth-year head coach Willie Hayes has five lettermen and two starters back from an 11-18 club that was 6-12 (8th place) in the SWAC last season. The Bulldogs are led by seniors Christopher Thomas (G, 6-7, 4.7 ppg) and Rakiya Battle (G, 6-1, 6.5 ppg, 5.1 apg).
Scouting Jacksonville State
Jacksonville State is led by new head coach Ray Harper who has rolled up 431 career wins in a 16-year tenure -- most recently at Western Kentucky. Harper was named the NCAA Division II National Coach of the Year four-straight years from 1999-2002, while earning the honor at the NAIA Division I level once with Oklahoma City following the 2008 title run. The club's top two scorers -- Malcolm Drumwright (G, 6-2, 14.0 ppg) and Springfield Parkview product Erik Durham (G, 6-4, 11.7 ppg, 50 threes) -- return from an 8-23 squad that was 4-12 (6th East) in the Ohio Valley Conference.
The Ten Count
- Dequon Miller (Sr., Charleston, W.Va.) is the third-best returning scorer (12.7) in The Valley in 2016-17 behind Drake's Reed Timmer (19.3) and Indiana State's Brenton Scott (14.6), while fellow Bear Chris Kendrix (Jr., Willard, Mo.) (12.1) is the No. 4 returning scorer in the league.
- In last Saturday's exhibition game, transfer Alize Johnson (Jr., Williamsport, Pa.) stole the show with a game-high 26 points on 9-of-15 shooting with a pair of 3-pointers, 11 rebounds and 2 assists in the win over Mo. Baptist.
- Also noteworthy in MSU's sole exhibition contest was the collective performance of the Bears' three juco transfers. In addition to Johnson's 26 points, Ronnie Rousseau III (Cincinnati, Ohio) scored 11, while Jarrid Rhodes (Palmetto, Fla.) tallied 13 points. The trio accounted for 50 of the team's 93 points -- 54 percent.
- The Bears are 33-1 during their Division I era in home openers, including all eight home openers at JQH Arena
- Miller, last year's MVC Newcomer of the Year, was an MVC Preseason All-Conference second-team pick this year.
- Six different Bears combined for 11 3-pointers in MSU's exhibition win over Missouri Baptist last Saturday.
- The Bears are 24-10 in season openers since 1982-83 and have won six of their last seven. Head coach Paul Lusk is 4-1 in season openers, including a 2-0 record at JQH Arena.
- Prior to last week's exhibition game, MSU added walk-on Tyrie Hill-Thomas (So., St. Peters, Mo.) to the roster. Hill-Thomas had 2 points and 2 rebounds in the preseason and spent one season (2014-15) at Central Methodist Univ.
- Prior to returning to his alma mater, Alabama A&M AD Bryan Hicks served as MSU's associate athletic director for student development from August 2009 to June 2012.
- Jacksonville State boasts three players from Missouri, including Springfield native Erik Durham from Parkview High.
Exhibition Recap
 Led by newcomer
Alize Johnson's 26 points and 11 rebounds, Missouri State cruised to a 93-72 exhibition win here Saturday, dispatching visiting Missouri Baptist before 2,737 fans at JQH Arena.
 The Bears also got double-figure scoring efforts from fellow newcomers
Jarrid Rhodes (13 points) and
Ronnie Rousseau III (11), while
Dequon Miller tallied 13 points.
Obediah Church notched a game-high 13 rebounds with
Jarred Dixon and
Austin Ruder each contributing 9 points off the bench for
Paul Lusk's Bears.
 MSU never trailed in the game and jumped out to a 7-0 lead out of the gates. It took the Bears less than five minutes to open up their first double-digit advantage, and by the midway point in the opening half, the home side had its biggest lead of the period, 28-13.
 Six different Missouri State players connected on 3-pointers, including a team-high three treys by Miller. Rousseau's second bomb of the night with just under seven minutes to play gave Missouri State its biggest lead of the night, 91-65. As a team, the Bears made 11-of-31 (.355) shots beyond the arc.
  A key stretch late in the first half seemed to dash the Spartans' chances. After back-to-back treys by David Gabrovsek cut the MSU lead to 33-28 at the five-minute mark, Missouri State reeled off 10 of the next 12 points over a three-minute stretch. A baseline jumper by Dixon, a trey by Rousseau, a dunk by
Robin Thompson and a jumper from Rhodes pushed the maroon side ahead 43-30 with two minutes to go in the half.
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