MSU Wraps Road Swing Tuesday at A-State

GAME 11 - Missouri State Bears (4-6) at Arkansas State Red Wolves (4-6)
Date and Time	Tuesday, Dec. 18, 2018 \| 7:00 p.m.
Location	First National Bank Arena (10,038) \| Jonesboro, Ark.
Tickets	Arkansas State Tickets
Radio	KTXR (101.3 FM) (Art Hains, Mike Keltner) \| MSU Radio Network \| Listen Live
Television	Not Televised \| Watch Arkansas State Video $tream
Series	Missouri State leads 22-9 \| Last meeting: MSU 77, A-State 46 (11/15/11 [Box Score]
Live Stats	Live Stats
Game Notes	Missouri State \| Arkansas State \| MVC Notebook \| MSU Media Guide
Follow	Facebook \| Athletics Twitter \| Basketball Twitter \| Instagram \| #MSUBears
Next Home Game	MSU returns to JQH Arena on Saturday, Dec. 22 to host UAPB at 1 p.m. [UAPB Game Tickets]
Holiday Hours	The Old Missouri Bank Box Office at JQH Arena will be closed Dec. 20, 23, 24, 25, 31 & Jan. 1, 2 for the holidays. The box office is open 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Dec. 21.

The Ten Count

The Bears play their final non-conference road game of the season Tuesday when they travel to Sun Belt Conference foe Arkansas State. The Red Wolves (4-6) are 3-0 at home this season.
Senior Jarred Dixon (G, Kansas City, Mo.) needs just 12 points to reach 1,000 for his career (106 games). MSU has had 28 1,000-point scorers in its proud history, but none since Kyle Weems reached the milestone in 2011. In Saturday's game at North Dakota State, Dixon surpassed Alize Johnson for 29th place on MSU's career scoring list.
MSU is 4-0 this season when shooting a better field goal percentage than its opponents.
Dixon has now scored in double figures 50 times in his 106-game career. He has produced 10 or more points in 14 of his last 16 games -- and nine of 10 games this season -- and ranks 4th in the MVC in scoring (16.3 ppg).
Over the last 4 games -- all starts -- Ryan Kreklow (Sr., Columbia, Mo.) is 9-for-20 (.450) from 3-point range.
In his Missouri State debut Saturday at North Dakota State, Jared Ridder (RFr., Springfield, Mo.) posted 10 points off the bench, grabbed 4 rebounds, snagged 2 steals and knocked down a pair of threes in a 25-minute appearance. The transfer from Xavier University sat out the last three semesters to satisfy NCAA transfer requirements.
Obediah Church (Sr., Springfield, Ill.) is likley to make his 100th career start in the Arkansas State game. Church, who ranks second in the Missouri Valley in blocked shots (17), is just 10 points shy of 700 for his 106-game career.
Missouri State is 22-9 all-time against Arkansas State and has won the last nine meetings in the series, dating back to 1989. The Bears are 13-3 against the Red Wolves during MSU's Division I era (1982-83 to present).
Tulio Da Silva (Jr., Formiga, Brazil) is averaging 18.0 points per game over his last four games -- all starts. The transfer from USF was declared eligible by the NCAA on Nov. 24. As a starter, Da Silva has converted 62.5 percent of his field goal attempts (30-for-48). He is also averaging 15.3 points and a team-best 6.8 rebounds per game in road games.
Keandre Cook (Jr., Baltimore, Md.) scored 10 points in his return to the starting lineup against NDSU on Saturday, after three games in a reserve capacity. He has scored in double figures eight times in MSU's first 10 games, second on the team behind Dixon's nine. Cook is averaging 10.8 points over the last four games.
Josh Webster (Sr., St. Louis, Mo.) has 4 or more assists in 7 games this season and at least 3 assists in all 10 games. The graduate transfer from Texas Tech averages 4.9 assists per game and has a 2.72 assist-to-turnover ratio which ranks second in the MVC and 61st nationally.

Coach Dana Ford

Dana Ford (Illinois State, 2006) is 4-6 (.400) in his first season at Missouri State, including a 4-0 ledger at JQH Arena. He is now 61-71 (.462) in his fifth season as a head coach and 0-0 all-time vs. Arkansas State.
He was introduced as Missouri State's 18th men's basketball coach on March 22, 2018 after coaching the previous four seasons at Tennessee State. The native of Tamms, Illinois was 57-65 (.467) at Tennessee State, including a 52-39 ledger in his last three seasons in Nashville.
Ford, 33, was awarded the Ben Jobe Award in 2016 as the nation's top Division I minority coach. That same year, he was named Ohio Valley Conference Coach of the Year and NABC District 19 Coach of the Year after engineering one of the biggest turnarounds in NCAA history, swaying Tennessee State from a 5-26 record in his first season to a 20-11 mark in 2015-16.
He coached five All-OVC players in addition to two players recognized on the OVC All-Newcomer Team. Under his leadership, Tennessee State also doubled its home attendance average and twice earned votes in the Associated Press Top 25 poll during the 2016-17 season.
TheAthletic.com named Bears' head coach Dana Ford to its list of 30 "up and coming coaches to keep an eye on" during its 2018-19 preseason basketball coverage.

Series History

The series between the Bears and Red Wolves dates back to 1950 with Missouri State holding a 22-9 lead, including a 7-7 mark in Jonesboro. MSU is also 13-2 at home against A-State and 2-0 at neutral sites.
The Bears have also won nine straight meetings in the rivalry -- including two in overtime -- dating back to Arkansas State's 71-67 victory on Dec. 13, 1989 in Jonesboro.
The last meeting between the teams took place at the Convocation Center in Jonesoboro on Nov. 15, 2011 when the Bears held the Red Wolves to 29.4 percent shooting and forced 19 turnovers before a gathering of 2,353. MSU was led by Anthony Downing's 15 points, Caleb Patterson added 14 points, and Michael Bizoukas scored 11 with 5 assists. Malcoln Kirkland posted 14 points and 9 rebounds for A-State. [Box Score]

Rebound Foundation

Bears' head coach Dana Ford and his wife, Christina, are founders of the Rebound Foundation. The not-for-profit raises funds and awareness to help renew and restore women who have experienced a life of domestic abuse. The foundation provides a stable home and fresh start to abuse victims and their children. The Rebound Foundation currently provides homes in Springfield, Mo., and Chicago, Ill.

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