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Missouri State

Gaige Prim

Bears Set to Host Bradley in Final Home Series of Season

February 11, 2021

By: MSU Athletics Communications
GAMES 18-19 - Missouri State Bears (12-5, 8-5 MVC) vs. Bradley Braves (11-11, 5-8 MVC)
Dates and Times Saturday, Feb. 13, 2021 | 5:00 p.m. (Rebound Challenge Game)
Sunday, Feb. 14, 2021 | 3:00 p.m. (Senior Day)
Location JQH Arena (11,000 | 3,991) | Springfield, Missouri
Tickets Game 1 | Game 2 | (417) 836-7678 | Old Missouri Bank Box Office at JQH Arena
Fan Guide 2020-21 JQH Arena Fan Guide  |  Game Program
Promotions Rebound Challenge | Pledge Now
All Games - Upper-Level Tickets $10 | MSU Students Free with BearPass ID
Radio KWTO (101.3 FM) (Art Hains, Mike Keltner) | MSU Radio Network | Listen Live
Television Sat. - KOZL-TV (Don West, Kelby Stuckey) | Watch
Sun. - ESPN+ (Tom Ackerman, Danan Hughes) | Watch
Series Missouri State leads 39-25 | Last Meeting: BU 83, MSU 79 (ot) (2/19/20) | Box Score
Live Stats Live Stats
Game Notes Missouri State  | Bradley |  MVC Notebook | MSU Record Book
Follow Facebook | Athletics Twitter | Basketball Twitter | Instagram | #MSUBears | #BearsUnite
Up Next Bears at Southern Illinois, Wednesday, Feb. 17 | 8:15 p.m.
Bears at Evansville, Friday, Feb. 26 (6 p.m.) | Saturday, Feb. 27 (6 p.m.)

The Ten Count
  • Missouri State closes out the home portion of its 2020-21 schedule this weekend when it welcomes Bradley to JQH Arena on Saturday (5 p.m.) and Sunday (3 p.m.). The Bears bring The Valley's second-longest winning streak (3) into the series and currently sit in sole possession of third place in the MVC with just five games remaining.
  • Missouri State picked up its 1,700th all-time win on Wednesday with the Bears 65-53 win over rival Southern Illinois. Now in its 109th college basketball season, Missouri State is 1700-1015 all-time and started the season No. 37 on the NCAA list of winningest DI programs by victories.
  • With their win over SIU on Wednesday, the Bears secured a winning home record for the 49th consecutive season. MSU is 7-4 at JQH Arena this season  and has finished better than .500 in every home campaign since 1971-72.  
  • Gaige Prim (Sr., Aurora, Colo.) has recorded a steal in 12 straight games while emerging as a defensive stalwart in the league. He leads the team in steals (20) and blocks (20), while ranking 1st in the MVC in rebounds per game (8.9) and third in defensive rebounds per game (5.6).  Prim also leads the MVC in offensive rebounds per game (3.2), and ranks 5th in scoring (14.8), 5th in blocks (1.2), 6th in FG% (.589) and 7th in assists (3.3).
  • Isiaih Mosley (So., Columbia, Mo.) leads the MVC in scoring (20.8 ppg) and ranks 17th among all Division I players in that category. A Lou Henson Mid-Major Player of the Year nominee and this week's MVC Player of the Week, Mosley, is averaging 14.4 points in the second half alone and ranks 16th nationally in free throws (89) and 36th in FT% (.881).
  • Mosley is also among the league's top players in several other statistical categories -- 1st in FT% (.881), 2nd in defensive rebounds (6.1), 2nd in minutes played (33.5), 5th in assists (3.4) and 6th in rebounding (6.8). He ranks as the No. 2 sophomore in scoring in the nation behind Oral Roberts' Max Abmas (21.7 ppg).
  • Saturday's game will be the 50th game at Missouri State for coach Dana Ford, Isiaih Mosley and Ja'Monta Black.
  • Jared Ridder (Jr., Springfield, Mo.) has dropped in multiple 3-pointers 12 times this season and ranks 4th in the MVC in 3-pointers per game (2.2). Since moving into a reserve role the last five games, Ridder has produced multiple 3-pointers 4 times (including 2 triples against SIU on Wednesday) and is 9-for-25 (.360) from beyond the arc in that span.
  • Over the last 3 games, Demarcus Sharp (Jr., Charleston, Mo.) is averaging 9.0 points, 4.3 rebounds, 5.3 assists and 38.0 minutes per game. He was an NJCAA Division I All-American last season at Colby (Kan.) Community College.
  • The Bears are coming off a +8 rebound margin in Wednesday's game against SIU, pushing MSU to a 9-1 record this year (and 30-12 under Dana Ford) when they out-rebound their opponents. The Bears rank 13th nationally in defensive rebounds per game (29.12) and lead the MVC in that category.
  • Defensive juggernaut Keaton Hervey (Jr., Cedar Park, Texas) got into the scoring act in Wednesday's game, scoring a game-high/season-high 18 points with 6 rebounds and 3 blocks vs. SIU. He has 6 double-figure scoring games this season.
  • Ja'Monta Black (So., Columbia, Mo.) has scored in double figures back-to-back games, averaging 11.5 points in that span, including 13 points against SIU on Wednesday. He has also hit multiple 3-pointers in each of the last 2 games.
Coach Dana Ford
  • Dana Ford (Illinois State, 2006) is 44-38 (.537) in his third season as Missouri State head coach, including a 29-12 ledger at JQH Arena, 13-20 record in away games, and 2-6 mark at neutral sites. He is now 101-103 (.495) in his seventh season as a head coach. Ford is 2-3 in his career against Bradley.
  • With a 72-62 win at Illinois State on Feb. 7, Ford picked up his 100th career victory.
  • Ford was named to ESPN's College Basketball 40 Under 40 list this season. Ford was No. 35 on the 2020-21 rankings compiled by the ESPN staff to highlight the nation's top young head and assistant college basketball coaches.
  • Last year, Ford engineered a solid season finish that saw the Bears go 9-9 in the MVC and upset third-seeded Indiana State in the Valley Tournament quarterfinals. MSU matched or out-rebounded 24-of-33 opponents, including nine of their last 10, to finish 25th nationally in rebound margin (6.2). The Bears also posted their second-best free throw percentage (.749) of the program's Division I era and had their highest scoring average in league games (71.6) in 10 years. The Bears also boasted two All-MVC performers for the second year in a row with second team selection Keandre Cook and third-teamer Gaige Prim, who also earned MVC All-Newcomer Team laurels.
  • In his first season in Springfield in 2018-19, Ford led the Bears to a tie for third place (10-8) in The Valley with the program's first winning conference record 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 AP Top 25 poll in 2016-17.
  • Ford, 36, 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 (Rockets) and Fred Van Vleet (Raptors).
Series History
  • The series between the Bears and Braves began when MSU joined The Valley for the 1990-91 season. Missouri State leads the rivalry, 39-25. The Bears are 23-6 in Springfield (9-3 at JQH Arena) against the Braves, 13-17 in Peoria, and 3-2 at neutral sites.
  • Bradley swept the Bears last season, including a 91-78 win over MSU in Springfield on Jan. 15. Bradley tied an MSU opponent record with 17 3-pointers – with seven coming in a key seven-minute stretch late in the game – to lead the Braves to the comeback win. The improbable upset by BU followed a remarkable 33-7 run by the Bears to start the second half. Missouri State stormed back from a 16-point deficit to lead 68-58 with 9:28 to play in the game. Keandre Cook led the Bears with 22 points on 6-of-9 shooting, while Gaige Prim scored 13, and Isiaih Mosley notched 12 points for his seventh-straight double-figure scoring effort.
  • In the rematch in Peoria (Feb. 19), Bradley scored seven of its 11 overtime points at the free throw line, including a pair from Elijah Childs with 38 seconds left to help the Braves squeak pass visiting Missouri State, 83-79, in extra time. Darrell Brown led five Bradley players in double figures with 19 points, while Missouri State's Lamont West tallied a game-high 20 points to lead the visitors. Josh Hall contributed 17 points with a team-high 9 rebounds for Missouri State, while Prim scored 10 with 8 boards before fouling out. | 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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