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Battle-Tested Bears Return Home for Showdown with Murray

Battle-Tested Bears Return Home for Showdown with Murray

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MSU Athletics Communications

GAME 9 - Missouri State Bears (3-5) vs. Murray State Racers (4-3)
Date and Time Tuesday, December 3, 2019 | 7:02 p.m.
Location JQH Arena (11,000) | Springfield, Missouri
Tickets Murray State Game | Future Games
Radio KTXR (101.3 FM) (Art Hains, Mike Keltner) | MSU Radio Network | Listen Live
Television ESPN+ (Don West, Kelby Stuckey) | Watch
Series Murray State leads 3-2 | Last Meeting:Murray 77, MSU 66 (11/24/18) | Box Score
Live Stats Live Stats
Game Notes Missouri State | Murray State | MVC Notebook | MSU Media Guide
Coverage Dana Ford Weekly Presser |
Follow Facebook | Athletics Twitter | Basketball Twitter | Instagram | #MSUBears | #BearUp
Promotions Price Cutter Customer Appreciation Tickets (4 Free Tickets with $50 store purchase) | Game-Day Walk-Up Tickets (Sections E, J, O. P just $17)
Up Next The Bears host Mississippi Valley State on Friday, Dec. 6 (7:00 p.m.) | Tickets

The Ten Count
  • Missouri State kicks off its six-game December slate on Tuesday when the Bears host Murray State at 7 p.m. in MSU's first game at JQH Arena since Nov. 12.
  • The Bears have tallied double-figure offensive rebounds in 7-of-8 games this season (4 in a row), averaging 13.38 caroms on the offensive end -- tops in the MVC and 26th nationally.
  • Tulio Da Silva (Sr., Formiga, Brazil) is sitting at 49 dunks in his two seasons at Missouri State (35 games) and 913 career points for his career (84 games). The 2019 Missouri Valley Conference Newcomer of the Year is averaging 15.5 points per game over the last two games.
  • Bears' head coach Dana Ford is 1-4 all-time against Murray State, including a 1-3 ledger in his time at Tennessee State. His victory over the Racers came Jan. 16, 2016 when his Tigers defeated Murray, 73-71, in Nashville when Tahjere McCall hit a layup with 2.5 seconds left.
  • Kabir Mohammed (Sr., Lagos, Nigeria) is just 9 points away from 200 and 3 rebounds from 150 for his Missouri State career (39 games). Mohammed scored 11 points (4-of-7 FG) last year at Murray State and has started the last 6 games.
  • Keandre Cook (Sr., Baltimore, Md.) has reeled off 7 straight double-figure scoring games, matching his career-best streak (Jan. 16 to Feb. 6, 2018). Cook is averaging 18.1 points per game over the last 7 games.
  • In last year's game at Murray (11/24/18), Tulio Da Silva made his Missouri State debut, playing 30 minutes in reserve with a team-high 11 rebounds to go with his 7 points.
  • Lamont West (Sr., Cincinnati, Ohio) has knocked down a 3-pointer in 5 straight games. He has 48 career double-figure scoring games (117 games).
  • Josh Hall (Jr., Houston, Texas) is coming off his first career double-double with 11 points and a game-high 11 rebounds at LSU. Hall's only previous double-figure rebounding game (12 boards) came at San Jose State (3/1/17) while he was playing for Nevada.
  • Iron man Keandre Cook leads the MVC and ranks 39th nationally in minutes per game (36.06)
  • The Bears continue to lead the Missouri Valley in rebound margin (+7.6) which ranks 40th nationally entering this week.
  • Forrest Hamilton scored a game-high 23 points to lead the Bears to the 1952 NAIA national title with a 73-64 win over Murray State. Hamilton hit 10 field goals and got support from Jim Julian who posted 17 points in the finale to help MSU pull away down the stretch in a game that was tied, 39-39, at the half in Kansas City.
Coach Dana Ford
  • Dana Ford (Illinois State, 2006) is 19-21 (.475) in his second season as Missouri State head coach, including a 13-5 ledger at JQH Arena, 5-10 ledger in away games, and 1-5 mark at neutral sites. He is now 76-86 (.469) in his sixth season as a head coach.  He is 1-4 in his career against Murray State.
  • 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
  • The Bears and Racers have met five times previously -- four in the postseason -- with Murray State leading the series, 3-2.
  • The clubs met twice in the NAIA national playoffs with Murray State winning an opening-round game in 1943, and the Bears returning the favor in the 1952 national championship game. Also in the postseason,  Missouri State defeated Murray State, 89-76 in the first round of the NIT at JQH Arena on March 15, 2011. The Racers avenged the loss in the second round of the 2014 CIT, defeating the Bears, 66-63, at JQH Arena, on March 19, 2014.
  • Last year in Murray (Nov. 24, 2018), Ja Morant scored 29 points, snagged 13 rebounds, tallied 12 assists and knocked down six 3-pointers to lead the Racers to a 77-66 win. The Bears got 18 points from Jarred Dixon and 11 from Kabir Mohammed (4-of-7 FG) while Tulio Da Silva snagging 11 boards.
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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