Feb. 3, 2016

Missouri State Game Notes | Evansville Game Notes | MVC Weekly Notebook

Missouri State Bears (10-13, 6-5 MVC) vs. Evansville Purple Aces (18-6, 7-4 MVC)
Saturday, Feb. 6, 2016	Ford Center, Evansville, Ind. | 11 a.m. | FOX Sports MW
Location	Ford Center (8,930) | Evansville, Ind.
Promotions	-----
MSU Tickets	Game 24 at Evansville
Fan Information	BearWear | Browser Theme | Visitors Guide | MSU Bookstore
Television	FOX Sports Midwest with John Rooney & Kevin Lehman
Radio	Missouri State Radio Network with Art Hains & Mike Keltner
Online Coverage	Live Audio Stream | ESPN3 | Live Stats
MissouriStateBears.com	Live Stats | Basketball Home Page
Connect	@MissouriStBears | @MSUBearsHoops | Bears on Facebook |Bears on Instagram | #MSUBears | #MVCHoops
All-Time Series	MSU leads 33-30 | MSU Streak: L3 | Last Meeting: UE 76, MSU 59 (1/2/16)
Up Next	MSU travels to Northern Iowa on Wednesday, Feb. 10 for a 7 p.m. game on ESPN3

The 10 Count

• Dorrian Williams (Sr., Oklahoma City, Okla.) is coming off a 12-point game against Bradley, his highest scoring output in league play this season. It was his 23rd career double-figure scoring game and seventh of 2015-16.
  
• MSU's bench is averaging 30.5 points per game duing its current two-game win streak. Chris Kendrix (So., Willard, Mo.) has accounted for 38 of 61 points in that span (19.0 ppg), including a career-high 21 vs. Bradley on Tuesday.
  
• Ryan Kreklow (Fr., Columbia, Mo.) has knocked down at least one 3-pointer in 8 of his last 9 games and in 15-of-18 games this season. He has scored multiple treys 10 times.
  
• The Bears' wire-to-wire win over Bradley on Tuesday marked MSU's second such victory this season. The Bears also led Oral Roberts from start to finish in their 85-66 win at JQH Arena on Dec. 16.
  
• MVC Newcomer of the Week.Jarred Dixon (Kansas City, Mo.) averaged 16.5 points per game last week, including a career-high 19 against Indiana State (1/27/16). He has scored in double figures five straight games (13.0 ppg).
  
• MSU is 9-1 when shooting a higher field goal percentage than their opponents and 1-12 when they do not. Despite shooting 42.9 percent in Tuesday's win over Bradley, the Bears pulled off their first win against a better-shooting team.
  
• Camyn Boone's (Sr., Mesa, Ariz.) next start will be his 50th as a Bear. The second-year senior was 6-for-11 from the field for 18 points and game-highs 8 rebounds and 4 assists against Bradley in his return to the starting lineup.
  
• The Bears enter Saturday's game with 6 wins in their last 9 games, including 3 road wins in their last 4 away games.
  
• Five-time MVC Newcomer of the week Dequon Miller (Jr., Charleston, W.Va.) has scored 20 more points in 3 of the Bears' last 5 games. He has scored in double figures 17 times in 23 games this season.
  
• UE ranks in the national top 10 in FT (438) and FTA (618) with more free throws made than opponent attempts (433).
  

The Series

The rivalry between the Bears and Aces dates back to 1959 when the clubs met for the NCAA Division II title at Roberts Stadium in Evansville. The Bears lead the all-time series, 33-30, including a 10-18 mark in Evansville.
In the most-recent meeting (1/2/16) in Springfield, the Aces used a 20-0 run midway through the second half to squash MSU's upset hopes in a 76-59 home loss. Chris Kendrix scored 16 for the home side, while Dequon Miller added 14, while the Bears forced 19 turnovers and snagged 10 steals..

Scouting the Purple Aces

Coach Marty Simmons' squad returns all five starters from last year's CIT championship club, including D.J. Balentine (6-2, Sr., G) who averages 20.7 points and 4.3 assists per game, while Egidijus Mockevicius (6-10, Sr., C) is producing 16.6 points and an NCAA-best 14.1 rebounds to go with 61 blocks. UE ranks 3rd nationally in FG percentage and assists (18.8).

Coach Paul Lusk

Paul Lusk (Southern Illinois, 1995) is 68-84 (.447) in his fifth season at MSU and 70-107 (.395) in his sixth season overall as a head coach. He is 36-47 in MVC games (24-18 at home, 12-29 on the road), 2-4 in MVC Tournament games and 30-33 against all non-conference foes (20-11 at JQH Arena, 9-12 away and 1-10 at neutral sites). In all games, he is 44-29 at home, 21-41 on the road, and 3-14 at neutral sites. Lusk is 3-7 vs. Evansville, including a 1-3 mark at Ford Center and 3 overtime losses.
The 44-year-old Lusk took the reins as MSU's 17th head coach on April 1, 2011. He came to Springfield after seven seasons at Purdue (2004-11), including his last three as associate head coach there. Now in his 17th 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 played or coached in 10 NCAA Tournaments.
Lusk finished third in the MVC Coach of the Year voting in 2014 and was a finalist for the Skip Prosser Man of the Year Award that same year. He was also named one of the Top 25 high-major assistants by FoxSports.com in 2010, and CollegeSportsMadness.com named him MVC coach of the year in 2012. He is a member of the Illinois Basketball Hall of Fame after scoring 2,743 points during a highly-touted prep career at Wesclin High in New Baden, Ill. He went on to play 107 college games at Iowa and Southern Illinois, earning All-MVC second-team honors in 1994 for the Salukis.

Dixon Picks Up League Honor

After breaking a school record and posting a career high over the last two games, freshman guard Jarred Dixon (Kansas City, Mo.) has been named Missouri Valley Conference Newcomer of the Week on Feb. 1.
Dixon had a breakout week for the Bears, posting a career-high 19 points at Indiana State and then taking over down the stretch to help MSU topple Illinois State in overtime at home. His 6 steals against Illinois State -- including 2 in the final two minutes of regulation -- were a new MSU freshman single-game record and matched the third-best effort in program history. For the week, he averaged 16.5 points, 4.0 rebounds, 3.5 steals and 2.5 assists and converted 78 percent (14-of-18) at the free throw line.

Miller Earns Honor 5 Times

Junior guard Dequon Miller (Charleston, W.Va.) was named MVC Newcomer of the Week on Jan. 25, his fifth conference honor this season. For the week, he posted a pair of 20-point games with a career-high 23-point effort helping the Bears secure a come-from-behind win at Drake. He averaged 22.5 points for the week and was also 11-for-12 (.917) at the foul line with six 3-pointers, 4 assists and 6 rebounds.
Since the award began in 2003-04, only three other MVC players have won the award more times in their rookie season -- seven-time winner Doug McDermott (Creighton 2010-11), and six-time winners Cleanthony Early (Wichita State 2012-13) and Marcellus Sommerville (Bradley 2003-04).
Only four Missouri State players -- Danny Moore (1997), Mike Wallace (2001), Spencer Laurie (2007) and Adam Leonard (2010) -- have earned the prestigious honor of MVC Newcomer of the Year.

Up Next

MSU travels to Northern Iowa on Wednesday, Feb. 10 for a 7 p.m. game on ESPN3.

MVC Standings

Team	MVC	Pct.	Overall	Pct.
Wichita State	11-0	1.000	17-5	.773
Southern Illinois	7-4	.636	18-6	.750
Evansville	7-4	.636	18-6	.750
Indiana State	7-4	.636	13-10	.565
Illinois State	7-4	.636	13-11	.542
Missouri State	6-5	.545	10-13	.435
Northern Iowa	5-6	.455	13-11	.542
Loyola Chicago	3-8	.273	10-13	.435
Drake	1-10	.091	6-17	.261
Bradley	1-10	.091	3-21	.125