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Bears Look to Rebound Wednesday Against Bradley

Bears Look to Rebound Wednesday Against Bradley

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MSU Athletics Communications

GAME 18 - Missouri State Bears (8-9, 2-2 MVC) vs. Bradley Braves (12-5, 3-1 MVC)
Date and Time Wednesday, January 15, 2020 | 7:02 p.m.
Location JQH Arena (11,000) | Springfield, Missouri
Tickets Bradley Game | Future Games
Radio KTXR (101.3 FM) (Art Hains, Mike Keltner) | MSU Radio Network | Listen Live
Television ESPN+ (Scott Warmann, Marcus Wilson) | Watch
Series Missouri State leads 39-23 | Last Meeting: BU 61, MSU 58 (3/8/19) | Box Score
Live Stats Live Stats
Game Notes Missouri State | Bradley | MVC Notebook | MSU Media Guide
Follow Facebook | Athletics Twitter | Basketball Twitter | Instagram | #MSUBears | #BearUp
Promotions Athletic Director's Honor Roll (halftime)
Up Next The Bears travel to Evansville on Saturday, Jan. 18 at 1 p.m. | Tickets

The Ten Count
  • The Bears wrap up a two-game home swing Wednesday when they host Bradley at 7 p.m. at JQH Arena. The Braves come in with a share of the Valley lead with a 3-1 ledger and two straight conference wins, while MSU is looking to get back on track after splitting a pair of MVC contests last week. Missouri State is 9-2 against Bradley all-time at JQH Arena and swept the regular-season series from the Braves last year before falling to them in the MVC Tournament in St. Louis.
  • Keandre Cook (Sr., Baltimore, Md.) has been the Bears' top performer at JQH Arena this season, averaging 15.1 points in the team's 8 home games this season. He is also shooting 49.3 percent from the field, 46.9 percent from 3-point range and 91.4 percent at the foul line at home, while ranking second on the club in rebounds (5.5) and assists (1.8). 
  • Tulio Da Silva (Sr., Formiga, Brazil) eclipsed 1,000 career points in Saturday's game against Northern Iowa. Da Silva's shot off the glass with 8:06 left in the first half secured the historic milestone. He spent two seasons at South Florida and reached 1,000 points in his 93rd career ball game (44th game at MSU). He was 6-for-9 from the field against UNI and finished with 13 points.
  • Tyrik Dixon (Jr., Bentonville, Ark.) needs 22 points to reach 500 for his career (85 games). The transfer from Middle Tennessee also has an impressive 3.17 assist-to-turnover ratio in Valley play and ranks 2nd in conference with 4.8 assists per game against MVC opponents.
  • Lamont West (Sr., Cincinnati, Ohio), a Preseason All-MVC third-team selection, has made 25 consecutive free throws, including all 23 attempts this season and his final two attempts last year at West Virginia. West is averaging 10.1 points per game at home this season, which ranks third on the squad.
  • Isiaih Mosley (Fr., Columbia, Mo.) has scored in double-figures in 6 straight games. The 2019 Mr. Show-Me Basketball has scored 13.0 ppg in that span and has scored a 3-pointer in 7 straight games. He is tied for 4th among MVC freshman in conference scoring (12.8 ppg) and is tied for 2nd in 3-point accuracy (.500).
  • Gaige Prim (Jr., Aurora, Colo.) has scored in double figures in 10-of-12 appearances this year (season low is 8 points). He is coming off a 10-point performance against UNI on Saturday with 5 rebounds.
  • Darian Scott (So., Las Vegas, Nev.) turns 21 years old on the day of the Bradley game (Jan. 15). His milestone comes a day after teammate Spencer Brown (RJr., Fayetteville, Ark.) turns 22.
  • The Bears are 3-5 in games decided by 4 points or less this season, including a 1-1 mark in Valley games.
  • Today's game pits two of the league's top free throw shooting teams against one another. In MVC games, Bradley is shooting a league-best 76.5 percent from the line (52-of-68), while the Bears are 37-of-50 (.740), which ranks third.
  • The Bears rank 46th nationally in offensive rebound percentage (33.2) and 73rd in team FT percentage (.739).
Coach Dana Ford
  • Dana Ford (Illinois State, 2006) is 24-25 (.490) in his second season as Missouri State head coach, including a 17-6 ledger at JQH Arena, 6-14 record in away games, and 1-5 mark at neutral sites. He is now 81-90 (.473) in his sixth season as a head coach. Ford is 2-1 in his career against Bradley.
  • 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 series between the Bears and Braves began when MSU joined The Valley for the 1990-91 season. Missouri State leads the rivalry, 39-23, and the Bears are 23-5 all-time in Springfield (9-2 at JQH Arena).
  • MSU, which swept the regular-season series last year, snapped a three-game losing streak to the Braves (1/12/19) in Peoria with a 69-64 win. MSU scored the game's last 9 points and erased a 14-point second-half deficit with Tulio Da Silva pouring in 24 points and 13 rebounds. Jarred Dixon also added 15 points for the Bears who forced 21 turnovers. After chipping away most of the second half, the Bears finally took the lead with 43 seconds to play on a driving bucket off the glass by Keandre Cook. Cook hit a key 3-pointer nearly a minute earlier to cut the Bears' deficit to one. From there, MSU got a key steal from Ross Owens with 15.7 seconds to go while Josh Webster and Dixon combined to go 4-4 at the stripe to ice the win. Box Score
  • Later in Springfield (Feb. 26), MSU used a 24-1 first-half run and held Bradley without a field goal for 14 minutes in a 55-37 win. Cook led all players with 16 points and 10 rebounds with Da Silva adding 12 points and Kabir Mohammed scoring 7 points with 7 boards. Nate Kennell scored 11 for Bradley. Box Score
  • Finally, in the 4 vs. 5 game in St. Louis (March 8), the Bears led by 7 at the half but were held scoreless for a key four-and-a-half minute stretch in the second half while the Braves pulled ahead. BU was led by Darrell Brown Jr.'s 20 points with Elijah Childs adding 12. The Bears got 17 points from Jarred Dixon. 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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