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Missouri State

Demarcus Sharp

Showdown with Alabama State on Deck for Basketball Bears

November 11, 2021

By: MSU Athletics Communications
GAME 2 - Missouri State Bears (0-1) vs. Alabama State Hornets (0-2)
Dates and Times Saturday, Nov. 13, 2021 | 7:02 p.m. (Central)
Location JQH Arena (11,000) | Springfield, Missouri
Tickets Tickets | (417) 836-7678 | Old Missouri Bank Box Office at JQH Arena
Fan Info Digital Game Program
Radio KWTO (101.3 FM) (Art Hains, Mike Keltner) | MSU Radio Network | Listen Live
Television KOZL-TV / ESPN3 (Don West, Jim Middleton) | Watch
Series Missouri State leads 4-0 | Last Meeting: MSU 59, Ala. St. 50 (11/10/19) | Box Score
Live Stats Live Stats
Game Notes Missouri State  | Alabama State |  MVC Notebook | MSU Media Guide
Follow Facebook | Athletics Twitter | Basketball Twitter | Instagram | #MSUBears | #BearsUnite
Up Next Wednesday, Nov. 17 - Bears at Sam Houston | 7:30 p.m.

The Ten Count
  • The Missouri State Bears conclude an early-season two-game home stand Saturday at 7 p.m. (ESPN3) when they host Alabama State at JQH Arena. Coach Dana Ford is looking for his 50th victory as Bears' head coach as the fourth-year sideline boss (49-41) works to become the 11th MSU head coach to reach that milestone.
  • This will be the fifth meeting between the Bears and Hornets all-time, including a 59-50 Bears win over ASU two years ago (11/10/19) at JQH Arena. Missouri State is 4-0 all-time against Alabama State, including a 3-0 record at home and a 1-0 mark in Montgomery.
  • In Tuesday's opener against SEMO, the Bears fire at impressive 51.7-percent from the field on 31-of-60 field goal attempts. It marked the first loss under coach Dana Ford (26-1) when the Bears have shot 50 percent or better from the field. Last year, MSU's 47.8 field goal percentage ranked 25th nationally and was the best by MSU since 1990-91 (.488).
  • Preseason All-MVC first-team pick Isiaih Mosley (Jr., Columbia, Mo.) became Missouri State's first-ever Valley scoring champion (19.8 ppg) last season, including 14 games in which he scored 20 points or more, and 20 double-figure scoring games en route to All-MVC and NABC All-District first-team honors. He racked up 16 points vs. SEMO on Tuesday, the 35th double-figure scoring game of his career.
  • With his 28-point, 15-rebound showing against SEMO on opening night, Gaige Prim (Sr., Aurora, Colo.) moved into the top 50 career scorers in Missouri State history. Prim, who was 8-of-11 from the field on Tuesday, has now collected 811 points in 53 games at Missouri State. He was the only NCAA Division I player to post 15 or more rebounds and 20 or more points on opening night.
  • Gaige Prim (Sr., Aurora, Colo.) has collected a steal in 20 consecutive games, dating back to last season. He led the squad in blocked shots (31) and steals (28) last season and was named to the MVC All-Defensive Team.
  • Bears juniors Ja'Monta Black and Isiaih Mosley were the only Missouri State players who saw action in the most-recent meeting between Missouri State and Alabama State. Both players came off the bench to contribute to the 65-60 win with Black playing 12 minutes, and Mosley seeing 21 minutes in reserve with 7 points, 2 rebounds and a pair of steals.
  • In his Missouri State debut Tuesday, Donovan Clay (Jr., Alton, Ill.) posted 20 points on 8-of-10 field goal attempts to go with 4 rebounds and a pair of dunks. It marked Clay's sixth 20-point game of his career and was just 2 points shy of a career high.
  • Demarcus Sharp (Sr., Charleston, Mo.) racked up 12 points in the SEMO game Tuesday, his eighth double-figure scoring game at MSU. Sharp finished 3rd in the MVC in assists per game (3.7) last season while earning MVC All-Newcomer Team laurels.
  • Jaylen Minnett (Sr., Terre Haute, Ind.) was 4-for-9 from 3-point range in Tuesday's season opener. He accounted for 14 of the Bears' 16 bench points vs. SEMO and gave MSU 5 double-figure scorers for the second time in its last three games.  
  • The Bears return 89.4% of their scoring, 91.0% of their rebounding, 93.8% of their assists and 71.7% of their 3-pointers and all 5 starters from a 17-7 squad that went 12-6 (3rd place) in the Missouri Valley Conference.
Coach Dana Ford
  • Dana Ford (Illinois State, 2006) is 49-41 (.544) in his fourth season as Missouri State head coach, including a 31-13 ledger at JQH Arena, 15-21 record in away games, and 3-7 mark at neutral sites. He is now 106-106 (.500) in his eighth season as a head coach. He is 3-0 all-time against Alabama State.
  • Ford picked up his 100th career victory on Feb. 7, 2021 at Illinois State (72-62).
  • Last season, Ford was named to ESPN's College Basketball 40 Under 40 list at No. 35 and was on the list of national finalists for both the Skip Prosser Award and Ben Jobe Award. The Bears completed the 2020-21 campaign with a 17-7 overall record and 12-6 ledger in the Missouri Valley Conference (third) before advancing to the MVC Tournament semifinals. Missouri State was 7-2 in road conference games to match a program highwater mark, while Isiaih Mosley and Gaige Prim earned All-MVC first team honors, and Demarcus Sharp earned a spot on the MVC All-Newcomer Team.
  • 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 AP Top 25 poll in 2016-17.
  • Ford, 37, earned 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 (Trail Blazers) and Fred Van Vleet (Raptors)..
Series History
  • Missouri State is 4-0 all-time against Alabama State, including a 3-0 record at home (1-0 at JQH Arena) and 1-0 mark in Montgomery against the Hornets.
  • In the most-recent matchup between the schools (11/10/19), Keandre Cook scored a career-high 31 points to help lead Missouri State to a 59-50 win. Cook was 9-of-13 overall from the field, 6-for-7 from 3-point range, and 7-of-7 from the stripe to pace all players. The Bears out-rebounded the Hornets by a 40-27 margin, including a game-high 14 caroms by Tulio Da Silva. MSU led for all but four minutes but had trouble putting the scrappy visitors away. The Bears led by as many as 12 points late after a layup by Isiaih Mosley with 2:13 to go made it a 57-45. | 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.
  • Pledge to assist the Rebound Challenge today!  Pledge Link


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