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Missouri State

Demarcus Sharp

Road Date with Salukis on Tap for Bears Wednesday

February 15, 2021

By: MSU Athletics Communications
GAME 20 - Missouri State Bears (14-5, 10-5 MVC) at Southern Illinois Salukis (11-10, 6-10 MVC)
Dates and Times Wednesday, Feb. 17, 2021 | 8:15 p.m.
Location Banterra Center (8,339) | Carbondale, Illinois
Tickets Tickets are not available for this event
MSU Fan Guide 2020-21 JQH Arena Fan Guide 
Radio KWTO (101.3 FM) (Art Hains, Mike Keltner) | MSU Radio Network | Listen Live
Television Marquee Network (Connor Onion, Kelly Burke) | Watch
Series Southern Illinois leads 50-40 | Last Meeting: MSU 65, SIU 53 (2/10/21) | Box Score
Live Stats Live Stats
Game Notes Missouri State | Southern Illinois | MVC Notebook | MSU Record Book
Follow Facebook | Athletics Twitter | Basketball Twitter | Instagram | #MSUBears | #BearsUnite
Up Next The Bears conclude the regular season, Feb. 26-27 at Evansville

The Ten Count
  • Missouri State (14-5, 10-5 MVC) takes a conference-best five-game win streak to Banterra Center in Carbondale on Wednesday when the Bears square off with Southern Illinois for the second time in a week. MSU won a 65-53 decision over the Salukis on Feb. 10 in Springfield for its third win in four games in the series.
  • Ja'Monta Black (So., Columbia, Mo.) has scored in double figures 4 straight games, averaging 15.3 points and shooting 15-of-30 (.500) from three in that span. He also posted a team-best 17.0 scoring average in 3 games last week, while shooting 57.1 percent from the field (16-of-28) and 56.5 percent (13-for-23) from long range.
  • MSU (10-5 MVC) has secured a winning conference record for the second time in three seasons under coach Dana Ford. Since 2007, MSU has won 10 or more league games just twice -- 15-3 in 2010-11 and 10-8 under Ford in 2018-19.
  • Gaige Prim (Sr., Aurora, Colo.) has recorded a steal in 14 straight games while emerging as a defensive stalwart in the league. He leads the team in steals (23) and blocks (22), while ranking 1st in the MVC in total rebounds per game (8.6), offensive rebounds per game (3.2) and is third in defensive rebounds per game (5.5). He is coming off back-to-back 20-point games against Bradley (7 this season). He ranks 13th nationally in FG% (.613).
  • Isiaih Mosley (So., Columbia, Mo.) continues to lead the MVC in scoring (20.3 ppg) by a wide margin and is coming off a 27-point effort in Sunday's win over Bradley -- his 11th 20-point game this season. Mosley is a Lou Henson Mid-Major Player of the Year nominee. He ranks 24th nationally in scoring.
  • The Bears are in the middle of their longest conference win streak since reeling off eight straight MVC victories from Feb. 5 to Dec. 31, 2011.
  • MSU is 5-1 in Valley road games this season with Mosley averaging a team-best 24.5 points per game away from home.
  • The Bears are 9-0 this season and 24-0 under coach Dana Ford when they shoot 50 percent or better from the field. Missouri State shot just under 50-percent (24-for-49) in the first meeting between the Bears and SIU on Feb. 10. MSU's .472 field goal percentage ranks 41st nationally.
  • Eight of the Bears' 10 Missouri Valley Conference wins this season have been by double figures. Missouri State's scoring margin in conference wins is +12.3.
  • Isiaih Mosley wrapped up the 2020-21 home slate on Sunday by tying one JQH Arena record and breaking another. Mosley became the fourth player to go a perfect 5-for-5 from 3-point range in a game at The Q as part of his 27-point effort against Bradley. He also finished the home schedule with an 18.3 ppg scoring averaging at JQH to shatter Keandre Cook's single-season arena scoring average record (16.3 ppg).
  • Over the last 5 games, Demarcus Sharp (Jr., Charleston, Mo.) is averaging 6.0 assists per game with a 3.33 assist-to-turnover ratio. He is also firing at a .484 clip from the field and .462 percentage from 3-point range in that span.
  • Missouri State is 11-1 this year (and 32-12 under Dana Ford) when it out-rebounds its opponents. The Bears rank 17th nationally in defensive rebounds per game (28.74) and lead the MVC in that category
Coach Dana Ford
  • Dana Ford (Illinois State, 2006) is 46-38 (.548) in his third season as Missouri State head coach, including a 31-12 ledger at JQH Arena, 13-20 record in away games, and 2-6 mark at neutral sites. He is now 103-103 (.500) in his seventh season as a head coach. Ford is 3-4 in his career against SIU.
  • 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
  • SIU leads the all-time series, 50-40, in a rivalry that dates back to 1957. MSU is 9-28 all-time in Carbondale, 25-15 at home (9-4 at JQH Arena) and 6-7 at three different neutral sites against the Salukis.
  • Last week in Springfield (Feb. 10), Keaton Hervey scored a season-high 18 points, snagged 6 rebounds and blocked 3 shots to lead four Missouri State players in double figures as the Bears turned back SIU, 65-53. Hervey ignited a 16-6 second-half run for the Bears that turned a 3-point halftime lead into a 13-point advantage for the Bears. MSU shot 61 percent in the second half and out-rebounding the Salukis by a 35-27 margin. Ja'Monta Black added 13 points for the Bears with Isiaih Mosley pitching in 12 with a team-high 8 rebounds, and Gaige Prim stacking up 10 points and 5 assists. SIU was led by Lance Jones with 13 points, while Dalton Banks added 12 points and a team-high 6 rebounds off the bench for the Salukis. Box Score
  • Last season in Carbondale (Feb. 8, 2020), SIU squeaked out a 68-66 win on a 17-foot buzzer-beater by Marcus Domansk as time expired. MSU took the lead with 39 seconds to go on a basket by Tulio Da Silva that made it 66-65. Later, with the scored tied, the Bears missed two 3-pointers on their next possession before SIU scored at the buzzer, going the length of the floor to Domansk in a remarkable 1.6 seconds. Domansk had 18 points for SIU, while the Bears were led by 17 points from Josh Hall and 16 by Gaige Prim.
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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