Skip To Main Content
Skip To Main Content

Missouri State

Dana Ford

Ford, Bears Continue Home Stand Sunday Afternoon

November 08, 2019

By: MSU Athletics Communications
GAME 2 - Missouri State Bears (0-1) vs. Alabama State Hornets (0-1)
Date and Time Sunday, November 10, 2019 | 2:02 p.m.
Location JQH Arena (11,000) | Springfield, Missouri
Tickets Alabama State Game | Future Games
Radio KTXR (101.3 FM) (Corey Riggs, Mike Keltner) | MSU Radio Network | Listen Live
Television KOZL-TV (Springfield) | ESPN+ (Don West, Kelby Stuckey) | Watch
Series Missouri State leads 3-0 | MSU 89, ASU 49 (11/30/06)
Live Stats Live Stats
Game Notes Missouri State | Alabama State | MVC Notebook | MSU Media Guide
Coverage Standard: Your Questions After First Loss | N-L: What National Media is Saying
Follow Facebook | Athletics Twitter | Basketball Twitter | Instagram | #MSUBears | #BearUp
Promotions Dana Ford Basketball Camp Reunion (Free Admission with Camp Letter)
Up Next The Bears host Cleveland State on Tuesday, Nov. 12 (7 p.m.) | Tickets

The Ten Count
  • Bears' head coach Dana Ford is 2-0 in his career vs. Alabama State, both during his tenure at Tennessee State. His TSU teams topped ASU on 12/14/16 (68-46) in Nashville and 12/12/17 (64-45) in Montgomery.
  • Jared Ridder's (So., Springfield, Mo.) first-half free throw against Little Rock in the season opener Tuesday made him the first MSU sophomore to score a point for Bears since Ross Owens scored 3 points at UNI on Feb. 24, 2018. MSU did not have any sophomores on its roster last season.
  • Tuesday's season opener against Little Rock marked first time in the Dana Ford era the Bears have lost after shooting better than their opponent from 3-point range (12-1). MSU was 8-for-28 (.284), while the Trojans were 3-of-14 (.214).
  • Lamont West (Sr., Cincinnati, Ohio) now needs just 43 points to reach 1,000 for his career. West scored 945 points in 109 games at West Virginia before transferring to Missouri State this season. He also has 353 career rebounds and 157 3-pointers in his career.
  • The Bears, who are now 688-477 (.591) in their 38th Division I season, need 12 wins to reach 700 as a DI program.
  • 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 113-48 (.702) at JQH Arena with 10 or more home wins three straight years.
Coach Dana Ford
  • Dana Ford (Illinois State, 2006) is 16-17 (.485) in his second season as Missouri State head coach, including a 11-5 ledger at JQH Arena, 5-9 ledger in away games, and 0-3 mark at neutral sites. He is now 73-82 (.471) 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 leads the all-time series against Alabama State, 3-0, although the teams have not played since 2006 and have never played at JQH Arena.  The Bears are 2-0 against the Hornets in Springfield and 1-0 in Montgomery.
  • In the most-recent meeting between the clubs (11/30/06), Deven Mitchell scored 14 off the bench, and Blake Ahearn notched 13 points to lead MSU to an 89-49 victory at Hammons Student Center. The Bears made 20-of-27 free throws and forced 18 turnovers while firing at a 52.7-percent clip from the field. Moses Edun scored 18 points to lead Alabama 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.
Print Friendly Version

Sponsors