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Basketball Bears Wrap Home Stand vs Former Rival

Basketball Bears Wrap Home Stand vs Former Rival

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MSU Athletics Communications

GAME 3 - Missouri State Bears (1-1) vs. Cleveland State Vikings (1-1)
Date and Time Tuesday, November 12, 2019 | 7:02 p.m.
Location JQH Arena (11,000) | Springfield, Missouri
Tickets Cleveland State Game | Future Games
Radio KTXR (101.3 FM) (Art Hains, Mike Keltner) | MSU Radio Network | Listen Live
Television KOZL-TV (Springfield) | ESPN+ (Don West, Kelby Stuckey) | Watch
Series Cleveland State leads 9-8 | Last Meeting: Missouri State 84, Cleveland State 73 (2/19/90)
Live Stats Live Stats
Game Notes Missouri State | Cleveland State | MVC Notebook | MSU Media Guide
Coverage Standard: Your Questions After First Loss | Ford Weekly Presser
Follow Facebook | Athletics Twitter | Basketball Twitter | Instagram | #MSUBears | #BearUp
Promotions Hosting Heroes Day ($5 Tickets for all veterans, active military, first responders)
Up Next The Bears host Murray State on Tuesday, Dec. 3 (7 p.m.) | Tickets

The Ten Count
  • Lamont West (Sr., Cincinnati, Ohio) needs just 35 points to reach 1,000 for his career. West scored 945 points in 109 games at West Virginia before transferring to MSU this season. He also has 353 career rebounds and 157 3-pointers.
  • Missouri State will meet former arch rival Cleveland State for the first time in nearly 30 years Tuesday. As members of the Mid-Continent Conference (1982-90), they met 17 times in that league with the Vikings owning a 9-8 edge in the series. In that span, he Bears were 6-3 at Hammons Student Center against CSU.
  • After ranking third in the MVC last season in total rebounds (201), Bears senior Tulio Da Silva (Formiga, Brazil) has picked up where he left off in his final campaign. Da Silva averaged 10.5 rebounds per game during the first week of the season, snagging 14 caroms -- his highest single-game total with Missouri State -- in Sunday's win over Alabama State.
  • Keandre Cook (Sr., Baltimore, Md.) erupted for a career-high 31 points and flirted with a school 3-point record to help the Bears to a win over Alabama State on Sunday. He made 9-of-13 shots overall, 6-of-7 from 3-point range, and 7-of-7 at the foul line in addition to draining his first six 3-point attempts in the game. 
  • MSU is the preseason favorite to win the Missouri Valley for just the second time in its MVC tenure (1990-91 to present).
  • The Bears boast a pair of returning all-conference players in Tulio Da Silva (Sr., Formiga, Brazil) and Keandre Cook (Sr., Baltimore, Md.). Da Silva was an All-MVC first-team selection last year and earned MVC Newcomer of the Year honors (the third Bear in four years to earn the distinction) after averaging 14.3 points and 7.4 rebounds per game in his first year in Springfield. Cook was an All-MVC third-team pick a year ago after posting 12.8 points, 4.3 rebounds and 48 3-pointers. Both players were on the 2019 MVC All-Newcomer Team and were Preseason All-MVC picks this year.
  • Three of Missouri State's newcomers have NCAA Tournament experience with their previous clubs. Lamont West (Sr., Cincinnati, Ohio) played in six NCAA games at West Virginia (2017 and 2018); Tyrik Dixon (Jr., Bentonville, Ark.) went to the Dance with Middle Tennessee in 2017 and played two games; and Josh Hall (Jr., Houston, Texas) made a pair of NCAA trips with Nevada (2017, 2018), playing in four games.
  • Isiaih Mosley (Fr., Columbia, Mo.) is just the fourth Mr. Show-Me Basketball to play at MSU. Named Missouri's top prep player in 2018-19, Mosley averaged 23.2 points per game as a senior at Rock Bridge HS where he (and fellow MSU teammate Ja'Monta Black) led the Bruins to a 25-3 record and Class 5 state title. The only other Bears to earn the title of Mr. Show-Me Basketball are teammate Jared Ridder (2017), Drew Richards (2004) and Spencer Laurie (2003).
  • Over the last 10 seasons, Missouri State is 114-49 (.699) at JQH Arena with 10 or more home wins three straight years.
  • Tyrik Dixon (Jr., Bentonville, Ark.) dished out 6 assists in Sunday's win over Alabama State, marking the 16th time in 70 Division I games he has distributed at least 5 scoring passes in a game.
Coach Dana Ford
  • Dana Ford (Illinois State, 2006) is 17-17 (.500) in his second season as Missouri State head coach, including a 12-5 ledger at JQH Arena, 5-9 ledger in away games, and 0-3 mark at neutral sites. He is now 74-82 (.474) in his sixth season as a head coach.
  • In his first season in Springfield, Ford led the Bears to a tie for third place (10-8) in the Missouri Valley Conference with the program's first winning record in Valley play since 2011. He guided two players -- Tulio Da Silva (first team) and Keandre Cook (third team) -- to All-MVC honors in addition to three players on the MVC All-Newcomer Team, including Newcomer of the Year Da Silva.
  • 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. He coached five All-OVC players and two OVC All-Newcomer Team selections during his tenure at TSU. 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.
  • Ford, 35, 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 has served as an assistant at Tennessee State, Wichita State and Illinois State and was responsible for recruiting future NBA talents such as Robert Covington (Timberwolves) and Fred Van Vleet (Raptors).
Series History
  • Missouri State renews a long-time rivalry Tuesday when the Bears host Cleveland State at JQH Arena. The two clubs were arch rivals when both teams were members of the Mid-Continent Conference (1982-90) and met 17 times in that league with the Vikings owning a 9-8 edge in the series. In that span, he Bears were 6-3 at Hammons Student Center against CSU.
  • The clubs have not played since an 84-73 Bears win at Woodling Gym in Cleveland on Feb. 19, 1990 under legendary coach Charlie Spoonhour. In that game, the Bears were down by seven with nine minutes to go before ending the game on a 29-11 run. Lee Campbell had 20 points and 10 boards, with Darryl Reid contributing 18 points (11-of-12 at the line) for the visiting Bears. Steve Givens scored 21 for Cleveland State.
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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