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Missouri State

Black vs UCA

Bears Get Shot at Gaels in Rare West Coast Trip

December 20, 2021

By: MSU Athletics Communications
GAME 13 - Missouri State Bears (8-4) at Saint Mary's Gaels (10-3)
Date and Time Wednesday, Dec. 22, 2021 | 9:00 p.m. (Central)
Location University Credit Union Pavilion (3,500) | Moraga, Calif.
Tickets Tickets | (925) 631-4689
Radio KWTO (101.3 FM) (Art Hains, Mike Keltner) | MSU Radio Network | Listen Live
Television No Television | Streaming through WCCSports.com | Watch
Series Series tied, 1-1 | Last Meeting:SMC 77, MSU 61 (12/23/11)
Live Stats Live Stats
Game Notes Missouri State  | St. Mary's |  MVC Notebook | MSU Media Guide
Follow Facebook | Athletics Twitter | Basketball Twitter | Instagram | #MSUBears | #BearsUnite
Up Next Thursday, Dec. 30 - Bears vs. Evangel | 12:00 p.m. | Tickets
$5 Bleacher Ticket Special

The Ten Count
  • Missouri State travels to St. Mary's (Calif.) on Wednesday for a 9 p.m. (Central) non-conference showdown against the Gaels. The Bears, who have won four in a row, are 2-1 in road games and 4-2 away from JQH Arena this season.   
  • During its four-game win streak, Missouri State is averaging 82.8 points per game, while shooting .486 from the field (120-for-247), .414 from 3-point range, (46-of-111) and .833 at the foul line (45-for-54).
  • Last week, Isiaih Mosley (Jr., Columbia, Mo.) averaged a team-best 18.5 points per game while registering 6.5 rebounds and shooting 49.1 percent from the field (13-of-27) in a pair of double-digit home victories. Mosley has scored 20 or more points in three of the last four ball games and has eclipsed 20 points six times in 12 games this season.
  • Jaylen Minnett (Sr., Terre Haute, Ind.) was named MVC Newcomer of the Week after he averaged 15.0 points, 3.0 steals and 2.5 assists per game while helping the Bears to a 2-0 week. Minnett posted a team-high 16 points in the team's win over South Dakota State, pouring in four 3-pointers and snagging 4 steals in a convincing home win over the Jackrabbits. He followed that with 14 points vs. UCA with four 3-pointers, a game-high 5 assists and 2 more steals.
  • Gaige Prim (Sr., Aurora, Colo.) continues to rank high nationally in a variety of categories, all of which lead the Missouri Valley Conference -- 17th in double-doubles (5), 19th in total rebounds (107), 32nd in FG% (.593), 38th in rebounds per game (8.9) and 38th in offensive rebounds per game (3.17). Prim has scored in double figures in 11-of-12 games this season and in 79-of-100 career ball games.
  • Ja'Monta Black (Jr., Columbia, Mo.) is averaging 16.3 points per game during the Bears four-game win streak with a team-high 16 3-pointers in that span (16-of-37). Black posted 25 points (one shy of his career high) at Little Rock on Dec. 8..
  • The Bears have shot 71-percent or better from the free throw line in all 12 games this season and currently lead the MVC -- and rank 9th nationally -- in team free throw percentage (.804). Isiaih Mosley leads the Missouri Valley and ranks 6th nationally in charity-line shooting this season (.943).
  • Jaylen Minnett (Sr., Terre Haute, Ind.) has racked up 320 career 3-pointers (121 games), which ranks 5th among all active Division I players. He had a string of 21 consecutive games with at least one triple broken on Dec. 11. Minnett ranks 18th nationally in 3-pointers per game (3.5) and 19th in 3-point percentage (.473). He has knocked down three or more triples in 8-of-10 games at Missouri State.
  • Donovan Clay (Jr., Alton, Ill.) has recorded 6 or more rebounds in 6 straight games (7.2 rpg).
  • The Bears have flirted with their single-game 3-point record twice in their last 4 games with 16 triples at Little Rock on Dec. 8, followed by another 16-trey effort vs. UCA on Dec. 18. The club high-water mark of 17 was set on Dec. 30, 2018 vs. William Woods. This season, MSU is averaging 9.5 threes per game, which ranks 45th nationally.
  • The Bears jumped to 17th in KenPom.com's effective FG percentage ratings this week (55.8), while ranking 42nd in offensive efficiency (108.8). Among 350 Division programs, Missouri State also ranks 26th nationally in 3-point FG percentage (.386), 39th in scoring (80.2) and 41st in overall FG percentage (.479).  
  • Bears sophomore Lu'Cye Patterson (G, Minneapolis, Minn.) turns 20 on Thursday. The Bears are 4-0 with Patterson in the starting lineup this season. He is averaging 4.0 assists per game during the team's four-game win streak.
  • MSU has out-rebounded 6-of-7 recent foes with a an average rebound margin of 5.1 in that span.
Coach Dana Ford
  • Dana Ford (Illinois State, 2006) is 57-44 (.564) in his fourth season as Missouri State head coach, including a 35-14 ledger at JQH Arena, 17-22 record in away
    games, and 5-8 mark at neutral sites. He is now 114-109 (.511) in his eighth season as a head coach, including four seasons at Tennessee State. Ford is 0-0 all-time against St. Mary's.
  • He picked up his 100th career victory on Feb. 7, 2021 at Illinois State (72-62). The Dec. 15, 2021 win over South Dakota State was Ford's 100th game as Bears head coach.
  • 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 and St. Mary's have split their two previous meetings, but this year's matchup will be the first game in the series not played on a neutral court.
  • The Bears and Gaels first met on Nov. 25, 1989 at the Fresno State Coors Light Classic, with the Bears emerging with a 52-35 win. Chris Stange scored 16 points, and Lee Campbell snagged 13 rebounds to lead Missouri State to its best defensive effort of the season. St. Mary's shot just 27 percent (13-of-48) from the field, while the Bears out-rebounded the Gaels, 38-31.
  • In the most-recent meeting between the squads on Dec. 23, 2011, Brad Waldow and Matthew Dellavedova scored 17 points apiece to lead St. Mary's to a 77-61 win in the Continental Tire Las Vegas Classic. Caleb Patterson led MSU with 18 points on 8-of-12 shooting, while Jarmar GUlley scored 14, and Kyle Weems
    added 11 points and 7 rebounds. MSU led 36-35 with 18:23 left, but St. Mary's went on a 9-0 run from there and never looked back.
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.
  • This year's Rebound Foundation game will be Sunday, Feb. 6 vs. Loyola.
  • Pledge to assist the Rebound Challenge today!  Pledge Link
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