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Bears Set for Three Games at Naples Invitational

November 20, 2021

By: MSU Athletics Communications
GAMES 4-6 - Missouri State Bears (2-1) at Naples Invitational
Game 1 W 92-66 - Monday, Nov. 22 vs. Long Beach State (1-2) | 7 p.m. (Central) | LBSU Notes
Game 2 Tuesday, Nov. 23 vs. ETSU (2-2) | 7 p.m. (Central) | ETSU Notes
Game 3 Wednesday, Nov. 24 vs. George Washington (2-5)  | 4:30 p.m. (Central) | GW Notes
Location Moe Kent Family Fieldhouse (1,200) | Naples, Fla. | Tournament Central
Tickets Tickets 
Radio KWTO (101.3 FM) (Art Hains, Mike Keltner) | MSU Radio Network | Listen Live
Television FloHoops.com (Jon Gross) | Watch
Series vs. Long Beach State - MSU leads 2-0 | Last Meeting:  MSU 80, LBSU 52 (12/9/98)
vs. East Tennessee - ETSU leads 2-1 | Last Meeting: MSU 72, ETSU 68 (12/29/88)
vs. Murray State - Series tied 3-3 | Last Meeting: MSU 71, Murray 69 (12/3/19)
vs. Kent State - Kent St. leads 2-0 | Last Meeting: KSU 64, MSU 63 (11/30/03
vs. Wright State - MSU leads 1-0 | Last Meeting: MSU 66, WSU 50 (12/19/18)
No previous meetings vs. George Washington or James Madison
Live Stats Game 1 Live Stats | Game 2 Live Stats | Game 3 Live Stats
Game Notes Missouri State  | MSU Game 2 Notes | MSU Game 3 Notes |  MVC Notebook | MSU Media Guide | Tournament Central
Follow Facebook | Athletics Twitter | Basketball Twitter | Instagram | #MSUBears | #BearsUnite
Up Next Wednesday, Dec. 1 at Illinois State | 7 p.m.

The Ten Count
  • Missouri State begins play in the Naples (Fla.) Invitational on Monday (Nov. 22) when the Bears take on Long Beach State at 7 p.m. (Central) at the Community School of Naples. The Bears are 2-0 all-time against the 49ers and are looking to advance to Tuesday's semifinals against either ETSU or Murray State with a victory.
  • Missouri State is coming off a 77-55 road win at Sam Houston State on Wednesday (Nov. 17) in Huntsville, Texas. The victory marked the Bears' biggest road win (by margin) since a 77-46 win at Arkansas State on Nov. 15, 2011. Ironically, the Bears scored a 22-point road win just prior to that game with a 68-46 win at Nevada on Nov. 11, 2011.
  • At Sam Houston, Gaige Prim (Sr., Aurora, Colo.) logged his third double-double in three games this season after producing 17 points and 13 rebounds at Sam Houston. The All-MVC first-teamer currently ranks 3rd nationally in rebounds per game (14.0). Dating back to last season, Prim has produced double-digit points and rebounds in 4 straight ball games and in five of the team's last eight contests.
  • Fellow Preseason All-MVC first-team pick Isiaih Mosley (Jr., Columbia, Mo.) led all scorers with 21 points in Wednesday's game at Sam Houston, while snagging 5 rebounds. 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 22.7 scoring average ranks 19th nationally and 2nd in the Missouri Valley.
  • Keaton Hervey (Sr., Cedar Park, Texas) made the most of his return to Texas in MSU's win at Sam Houston on Nov. 17, posting 11 points for his first double-figure scoring game of the year, while draining 3 triples.
  • In the last matchup against Long Beach State (12/9/98), Kevin Ault dropped in 18 points, and MSU forced 24 turnovers and held the 49ers to 33.3 percent shooting (19-of-57) in the finals of the Pizza Hut Classic at Hammons Student Ctr.
  • Demarcus Sharp (Sr., Charleston, Mo.) matched a career-high with 8 assists in MSU's Nov. 13 win over Alabama State. He has led the Bears in assists in 2-of-3 games this season and ranks 4th in the MVC in scoring passes (4.3 apg). 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 year in Springfield.
  • Missouri State ranks 28th nationally in free throw percentage (.806), which leads the MVC. The Bears are coming off a near-perfect effort at the line in their win at Sam Houston, converting 17-of-18 charity shots (.944) in the victory. Isiaih Mosley, who led the MVC in FT percentage last season (.839), leads the Bears with a perfect 17-for-17 on the season.
  • Long Beach State ranks 14th nationally in field goal percentage (.537) and 15th in 3-point field goal percentage (.457), while West Texas A&M transfer Joel Murray ranks 3rd nationally in scoring (25.3). The 49ers have 2 starters back from a 6-12 team that was 4-8 in the Big West Conference in 2020-21.
  • Over the last 2 games, Ja'Monta Black (Jr., Columbia, Mo.) has combined for 7 three-pointers and is averaging 15.5 points per game in that span. Black has dropped in 88 career 3-pointers in 59 games at Missouri State.
  • The last time the Bears played in Florida (Nov. 20-22, 2017), they finished 5th at the Gulf Coast Showcase in Estero, Fla., beating Manhattan (69-65) and Florida Atlantic (71-60) after a narrow loss to Georgia Southern (74-73) in the first round.
Coach Dana Ford
  • Dana Ford (Illinois State, 2006) is 51-41 (.554) in his fourth season as Missouri State head coach, including a 32-13 ledger at JQH Arena, 16-21 record in away games, and 3-7 mark at neutral sites. He is now 108-106 (.505) in his eighth season as a head coach. He is 0-0 all-time against Long Beach 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 high-water 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 is 8-6 all-time against teams in this year's Naples Invitational.
  • The Bears are 2-0 against Long Beach State, 2-1 vs. ETSU and 3-3 all-time against Murray State.
  • On the opposite side of the bracket, MSU is 0-2 all-time against Kent State and 1-0 vs. Wright State. The Bears have never played James Madison or George Washington.
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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