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Key Home Game Against Drake Awaits Basketball Bears

Key Home Game Against Drake Awaits Basketball Bears

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MSU Athletics Communications

GAME 26 - Missouri State Bears (11-14, 5-7 MVC) vs. Drake Bulldogs (16-9, 6-6 MVC)
Date and Time Wednesday, February 12, 2020 | 7:02 p.m.
Location JQH Arena (11,000) | Springfield, Missouri
Tickets Drake Game | Future Games
Radio KTXR (101.3 FM) (Art Hains, Mike Keltner) | MSU Radio Network | Listen Live
Television KOZL-TV (Don West, Kelby Stuckey) | ESPN+ | Watch
Series Missouri State leads 43-18 | Last Meeting: DU 71, MSU 69 (1/26/20) | Box Score
Live Stats Live Stats
Game Notes Missouri State | Drake | MVC Notebook | MSU Media Guide
Follow Facebook | Athletics Twitter | Basketball Twitter | Instagram | #MSUBears | #BearUp
Coverage Dana Ford Weekly Availability | MVC Weekly Coaches Teleconference
Promotions Glow-In-The-Dark T-Shirts (first 1,000 fans) | Men's Soccer Recognition at Halftime
Up Next The Bears travel to Indiana State on Sunday, Feb. 16 (3 p.m.) on ESPNU | Tickets

The Ten Count
  • Missouri State begins the stretch run of the Valley season Wednesday when the Bears host Drake in a rematch of their classic battle in Des Moines on Jan. 26. The Bears are 8-4 at JQH Arena this season, are scoring 71.3 points per game in February, and have out-rebounded two of their last three foes with a +6.7 rebound margin.
  • Missouri State is just 1 win shy of 700 as a Division I program. The Bears are currently 699-490 (.588) in their 38th NCAA Division I season (since 1982-83).
  • Josh Hall (Jr., Houston, Texas) is coming off his best outing as a Bear in Saturday's game at Southern Illinois, scoring a team-high 17 points with 7 rebounds, 3 triples and 7-of-11 field goals. It was his highest point production since scoring 19 points on Jan. 31, 2018 (Nevada vs. Fresno State). In last week's win over Illinois State, Hall racked up a career-high 6 assists with no turnovers in his first start since Nov. 10. For the week, the transfer from Nevada averaged 12.0 points, 6.5 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 2.0 3-pointers while shooting .625 from the field.
  • In his 100th career game Saturday at Southern Illinois, Tulio Da Silva (Sr., Formiga, Brazil) posted 12 points and a game-high 12 rebounds for his first double-double since Dec. 3. Since his return to the starting lineup on Feb. 1, the 2019 MVC Newcomer of the Year is averaging 15.0 points and 9.3 rebounds per game while shooting .606 from the field.
  • Keandre Cook (Sr., Baltimore, Md.) is just 1 three-pointer away from 100 for his career (57 games). He would become the 18th player in program history to eclipse 100 treys in a Bears uniform. At 780 career points, he also ranks 59th on MSU's career scoring chart and leads all MSU players in home scoring with 16.0 points per game this season.
  • Gaige Prim (Jr., Aurora, Colo.) has scored 10 or more points in 17-of-20 appearances this season (5 in a row) and at least 8 points in every contest. Since moving into a starting role (last 8 games), he is averaging 14.8 points and 5.3 boards.
  • Isiaih Mosley (Fr., Columbia, Mo.) is just 9 points away from becoming the 18th freshman in program history to score 200 points in their rookie season -- and the squad's first since the 2015-16 season (Jarred Dixon and Obediah Church).
  • Ja'Monta Black (Fr., Columbia, Mo.) has knocked down at least one 3-pointer in 8 straight contests. Over the last 4 games, Black is averaging 7.0 points, 3.5 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 2.0 threes.
  • Missouri State has averaged 43.0 points in the paint over its last two contests, including 54 points in the paint in last Wednesday's win over Illinois State, the team's best paint production on record. The Bears previously scored 52 points in the paint at Drake (1/12/10). Points in the paint first appeared on NCAA box scores in 2005.
  • Ross Owens (Sr., Woodlawn, Ill.) has started the last 2 games for the Bears. He is coming off a career-high 4 assists against SIU on Saturday and is averaging 21.5 minutes and 4.0 points per game as a starter.
  • The Bears are now 3-7 this season in games decided by 4 points or less, including a 1-3 mark in Valley games.
Coach Dana Ford
  • Dana Ford (Illinois State, 2006) is 27-30 (.474) in his second season as Missouri State head coach, including a 19-8 ledger at JQH Arena, 7-17 record in away games, and 1-5 mark at neutral sites. He is now 84-95 (.469) in his sixth season as a head coach. Ford is 0-3 in his career against Drake.
  • 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 Drake started in Honolulu in 1986 and resumed in 1991 when MSU joined the Valley. MSU leads the all-time series, 43-18, including a 24-4 record in Springfield (8-3 at JQH Arena), 17-12 record in Des Moines, and a 2-1 ledger at neutral sites. The Bulldogs have won 5 in a row in the series with season sweeps each of the past two seasons.
  • Earlier this season in Des Moines (Jan. 26), the Bears nearly erased a 13-point deficit with 11 minutes to go, rallying late in a 71-69 defeat at Knapp Center. Gaige Prim had a career day for the Bears, going for season highs with 23 points and 12 rebounds for his first double-double at MSU. Keandre Cook posted 12 points and 13 boards, marking the first MSU teammates to secure double-doubles in a game since 2018.
  • Drake led 37-25 at the half and had a nine-point advantage with two-and-a-half minutes to go with MSU's defense keeping the Bulldogs without a field goal for a key seven-minute stretch. Roman Penn, who hit the game-winning shot for DU, had 17 points, 8 rebounds and 8 assists. 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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