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Rival Salukis Visit JQH for Senior Day Showdown

Rival Salukis Visit JQH for Senior Day Showdown

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MSU Athletics Communications

GAME 31 - Missouri State Bears (14-16, 8-9 MVC) vs. Southern Illinois Salukis (16-14 (10-7 MVC)
Date and Time Saturday, Feb. 29, 2020 | 3:02 p.m.
Location JQH Arena (11,000) | Springfield, Missouri
Tickets Senior Night vs. SIU | Arch Madness Tickets
Radio KTXR (101.3 FM) (Art Hains, Mike Keltner) | MSU Radio Network | Listen Live
Television ESPN3 (Ned Reynolds, Kelby Stuckey) | Watch
Series SIU leads 50-38 | Last Meeting: SIU 68, MSU 66 (2/8/20) | Box Score
Live Stats Live Stats
Game Notes Missouri State | Southern Illinois | MVC Notebook | MSU Media Guide
Follow Facebook | Athletics Twitter | Basketball Twitter | Instagram | #MSUBears | #BearUp
Coverage MVC Weekly Coaches Teleconference
Promotions Senior Day (2:45) | Pregame Light Show
Up Next The Bears travel to St  Louis for Arch Madness, March 5-8 | Arch Madness Tickets

The Ten Count
  • Missouri State concludes the regular season Saturday afternoon (3 p.m.) when the Bears host long-time rival Southern Illinois at JQH Arena. MSU will honor its five senior players during pregame ceremonies, starting at approximately 2:45 p.m., while trying to finish the season with a .500 ledger in Missouri Valley Conference play.
  • During the team's Division I era (since 1982-83), the Bears are 31-6 on Senior Night, including a 6-5 mark at JQH Arena. Missouri State has dropped its last three senior day contests and has not played SIU on senior day since 1991-92. 
  • MSU is averaging 70.8 points per game in league play, its highest since 2016-17 (69.8). The last time MSU scored 70.0 points per game in a Valley season was 2009-10 (72.2). MSU needs 56 points vs. SIU to finish with a 70.0 average.
  • Gaige Prim (Jr., Aurora, Colo.) has scored 10 or more points in 22-of-25 appearances this season (10 in a row). He has scored 9 or more points in 24 games, and at least 8 points in every contest. Since moving into a starting role (last 13 contests), Prim is averaging 14.3 points and 6.0 rebounds -- both second on the team -- with a team-high 68 field goals and an impressive .817 FT% (49-of-60) in that span. He is coming off his second double-double of the season with 17 points and 10 rebounds at Valpo on Tuesday, including a 9-of-10 effort at the foul line.
  • Tulio Da Silva (Sr., Formiga, Brazil) is rapidly approaching a 300-point, 200-rebound year for the second straight season. He is sitting at 270 points and 196 rebounds. Since 2000, the only Bears to reach 300/200 in back-to-back seasons are: Mike Wallace (2001, 02), Jermaine Mallett (2010, 11), Kyle Weems (2010, 11, 12) and Alize Johnson (2017, 18).
  • Ross Owens (Sr., Woodlawn, Ill.) has started the last 7 games and has racked up 20 assists and 170 minutes in that span. Owens entered the 2019-20 season with 156 career minutes in his first three full seasons at MSU.
  • Keandre Cook (Sr., Baltimore, Md.) is just 4 treys away from cracking the program's all-time top 10 in 3-pointers. For his career, Cook is 110-for-276 (.399) from bonus distance. He is the 18th player in program history to eclipse 100 career 3-pointers. His 852 career points (62g) ranks 41st on MSU's career scoring chart with Jimmy Murphy (1950-52, 877 pts.), Will Creekmore (2008-11, 881 pts.) and Ed Liliensiek (1977-81, 882 pts.) within striking distance down the stretch.
  • Cook's 16.6 points per game at JQH Arena this season is on pace to break Alize Johnson's single-season scoring average record at the facility (15.7 in 2017-18). Likewise, Cook's 14.4 ppg career scoring average at JQH is the second-highest by any Bear with at least 30 games in the facility, just behind from Johnson (14.9 ppg). Since coming off the bench the last 7 games, Cook is averaging 13.9 points with 15 3-pointers in that span.
  • Isiaih Mosley (Fr., Columbia, Mo.) has scored in double figures in 3-of-5 games, averaging 10.4 points in that span. With 243 points this season, Mosley is 10 shy of Chuck Williams (1967-68) for 10th place on MSU's freshman scoring list.
  • Over the last 13 games (all starts) Ja'Monta Black (Fr., Columbia, Mo.) is averaging 6.4 points and shooting .469 (23-of-49) from 3-pont range with a team-high 25 assists in that span. Black has made a 3-pointer in 13 consecutive contests.
Coach Dana Ford
  • Dana Ford (Illinois State, 2006) is 30-32 (.484) in his second season as Missouri State head coach, including a 21-8 ledger at JQH Arena, 8-19 record in away games, and 1-5 mark at neutral sites. He is now 87-97 (.473) in his sixth season as a head coach. Ford is 1-4 in his career against SIU.
  • 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
  • Southern Illinois leads the all-time series, 50-38, in a rivalry that dates back to 1957. MSU is 23-16 all-time at home against the Salukis, including a 7-4 mark at JQH Arena.
  • The Salukis squeaked out a 68-66 win on a buzzer beater in Carbondale on Feb. 8. A 17-foot jumper by Marcus Domansk as time expired gave SIU the win. MSU took the lead with 39 seconds to go on a basket by Tulio Da Silva that made it 66-65. Da Silva was fouled on the bucket, but missed the ensuing free throw after a lengthy video review. In the scrum for a rebound, Josh Hall went over Domansk's back, sending the SIU freshman to the line. After Domansk made the front end to tie it, 66-66, the Bears called timeout and ultimately froze the SIU freshman who missed the second shot. The Bears missed two 3-pointers on their next possession before SIU scored at the buzzer, going the length of the floor in a remarkable 1.6 seconds.
  • Domansk had 18 points to lead Southern Illinois, while the Bears were led by 17 points from Hall, 16 from Gaige Prim and 12 by Da Silva who snagged a game-high 12 rebounds. 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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