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Missouri State

Keaton Hervey

Basketball Bears Set for First Road Test at Sam Houston

November 15, 2021

By: MSU Athletics Communications
GAME 3 - Missouri State Bears (1-1) at Sam Houston Bearkats (1-1)
Dates and Times Wednesday, Nov. 17, 2021 | 7:30 p.m. (Central)
Location Bernard G. Johnson Coliseum (6,100) | Huntsville, Texas
Tickets Tickets | (936) 294-1729
Radio KWTO (101.3 FM) (Art Hains, Mike Keltner) | MSU Radio Network | Listen Live
Television ESPN+ (Jason Barfield, Ken Holland) | Watch
Series Missouri State leads 1-0 | Last Meeting: MSU 77, SHSU 61 (12/2/00)
Live Stats Live Stats
Game Notes Missouri State  | Sam Houston |  MVC Notebook | MSU Media Guide
Follow Facebook | Athletics Twitter | Basketball Twitter | Instagram | #MSUBears | #BearsUnite
Up Next November 22-24 | Naples (Fla.) Invitational | Tournament Central

The Ten Count
  • Fresh off their first victory of the 2021-22 season, the Missouri State Bears (1-1) take to the road Wednesday for a 7:30 p.m. (Central) matchup with Sam Houston in Huntsville, Texas. It will be just the second meeting ever between the Bears and Bearkats and the first contest between the clubs in Huntsville.
  • Coach Dana Ford picked up his 50th victory as Bears' head coach on Saturday's with Missouri State's 78-60 win over visiting Alabama State. The fourth-year sideline boss (50-41) is the 11th MSU head coach to reach that milestone.
  • Gaige Prim (Sr., Aurora, Colo.) logged a pair of double-doubles on opening week, averaging 19.5 points and 14.5 rebounds per game. The Preseason All-MVC first-teamer produced 28 points, 15 rebounds and 3 assists vs. SEMO on opening night before snagging 14 rebounds and scoring 11 points with 5 blocked shots in the win over Alabama State on Saturday. For the week, Prim converted 12-of-17 FGs (.706), 15-of-21 (.714) FTs, 3.0 blocks, 2.0 assists and 1.5 steals.
  • Prim was the only NCAA Division I player to post 15 or more rebounds and 20 or more points on opening night (Nov. 9).
  • Fellow Preseason All-MVC first-team pick Isiaih Mosley (Jr., Columbia, Mo.) is coming off a career-high 31 points in Saturday's win over Alabama State, converting 12-of-22 from the field with 4 triples. Last season, he became Missouri State's first-ever MVC scoring champion (19.8 ppg), including 14 games in which he scored 20 points or more points, and 20 double-figure scoring games. His current 23.5 scoring average ranks 29th nationally and 2nd in The Valley.
  • In last Tuesday's opener against SEMO, the Bears fired an 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.
  • Gaige Prim (Sr., Aurora, Colo.) has collected a steal in 21 consecutive games, dating back to last season. A year ago, he led the Missouri Valley Conference in rebounding (9.1 rpg), while leading the Bears in blocked shots (31) and steals (28) to earn MVC All-Defensive Team distinction.
  • Demarcus Sharp (Sr., Charleston, Mo.) matched a career-high with 8 assists in Saturday's win over Alabama State. The 2020 NJCAA All-American finished 3rd in the MVC in assists per game (3.7) last season while earning MVC All-Newcomer Team laurels in his first season in Springfield.
  • In his Missouri State debut on Nov. 9, 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 against SEMO. It marked Clay's sixth 20-point game of his career and was just 2 points shy of a career high. He followed that up with an 8-rebound performance in the win over Alabama State (Nov. 13).
  • Missouri State ranks 50th nationally in fewest turnovers per game (10.5).  
  • 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.
  • Over his last 11 games, Ja'Monta Black (Jr., Columbia, Mo.) has knocked down a 3-pointer in 10 contests with multiple treys in 6 of them. Black finished 2nd in the MVC in 3-pointers per game (2.3) last season.
Coach Dana Ford
  • Dana Ford (Illinois State, 2006) is 50-41 (.549) in his fourth season as Missouri State head coach, including a 32-13 ledger at JQH Arena, 15-21 record in away games, and 3-7 mark at neutral sites. He is now 107-106 (.502) in his eighth season as a head coach. He is 0-0 all-time against Sam Houston.
  • 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, TSU 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 has won the only previous meeting between the schools in men's basketball with a 77-61 victory over the Bearkats at Hammons Student Center on Dec. 12, 2000 as part of the Pizza Hut Classic.
  • Mike Wallace led the Bears with 19 points in that game, while Scott Brakebill and Charles Gaines poured in 16 points apiece in the win. Brakebill also snagged 12 boards for MSU, which shot 52.1 percent from the field.
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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